Ilia Topuria is no longer interested in a fight with Sean O’Malley.
‘Sugar’ came up short in his second bantamweight title defense of 2024, surrendering the strap to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306. Following a lackluster five-round performance, O’Malley lost via a decisive unanimous decision, bringing an end to his reign atop the 135-pound division and killing any chance of a potential champion vs. champion superfight with featherweight king Ilia Topuria.
“Some other better fight will come along,” Topuria told Marca when asked about O’Malley’s latest loss. “It’s like the same with Paddy [Pimblett]. It seemed like a super attractive fight, but if you’re not at the [same] level, what can I do? You get defeated even before you get into the Octagon with me. I don’t even need to get in there for people to know that I’m better than you. So why fight?”
Perhaps one day we’ll see O’Malley venture up to 145 for a clash with ‘El Matador.’ Until then, the former bantamweight titleholder will focus on healing up over the next several months.
Ilia Topuria defends his title against ‘blessed’ in abu Dhabi
Topuria, on the other hand, is focused on keeping the featherweight title firmly wrapped around his waist when he meets ex-champion Max Holloway in the UFC 308 main event on Saturday, October 26.
Topuria rides into Abu Dhabi with a perfect 15-0 record, including a second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski in February to capture the 145-pound crown. Determined to dethrone him will be Holloway, fresh off an epic buzzer-beating KO of Justin Gaethje to claim the BMF title at UFC 300 in April.
It will be Holloway’s 30th career UFC fight and his 10th time competing for or defending a world title.
