Sean O’Malley still has to get past Louis Smolka at UFC 264 in just a few weeks, but he already has big plans in mind when it comes to his future in the UFC.
O’Malley is looking to win consecutive bouts after getting the win over Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 earlier this year. Before that, O’Malley had suffered the first loss of his UFC career against Marlon Vera by TKO at UFC 252.
O’Malley wants big challenges on the sport’s biggest stage, and that includes former UFC bantamweight champion, Petr Yan. In a recent tweet, O’Malley called for a future fight with the former champion in his native Russia.
“I want to beat up Peter in Russia,” O’Malley said in a tweet. “This is my dream.”
Yan is expected to fight current UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, in a rematch of their first bout at UFC 259. Sterling won the fight after Yan landed an illegal knee late in the fight and Sterling declined to continue competing because of the blow.
Before the DQ loss to Sterling, Yan had been one of the hottest fighters in the UFC and eventually earning the belt after defeating Jose Aldo at UFC 251. He had been on a seven-fight win streak that includes wins over veterans John Dodson, Uriah Faber, and Jimmie Rivera.
O’Malley has emerged as one of the biggest young stars in the UFC after debuting on Dana White’s Contender Series back in 2017 with his infamous one-punch knockout of Alfred Khashakyan.
It was originally expected that O’Malley could fight Dominick Cruz later this year after the win over Almeida, but negotiations never materialized. Instead, he will fight Smolka with a chance at moving into the bantamweight rankings with a win.
While O’Malley isn’t looking past Smolka at UFC 264, he has big plans in mind as he continues his outstanding start to his UFC career.
Who do you think would win in a Sean O’Malley vs. Petr Yan fight?