Sean O’Malley is convinced matchmakers will anoint him the next 135-pound title contender, giving “Suga” the opportunity to reclaim the crown he lost to Merab Dvalishvili atop the UFC 306 pay-per-view (PPV) event back in September.
“The Machine” appears to be on board.
O’Malley is headed to the upcoming UFC 311 card on Sat., Jan. 18, 2025 inside Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, Calif., where Dvalishvili will defend his newly-minted bantamweight title against undefeated division menace Umar Nurmagomedov.
Let’s just hope the result doesn’t get overturned by Suga State Athletic Commission.
O’Malley has not competed since UFC 306 and is likely to remain out of action for the next few months, thanks to an injury that required surgery to repair. His expected timeline for return could align with the next fight for whoever prevails in the Merab-Umar contest.
That’s assuming we don’t have a draw or some other wacky outcome.
We’re likely to have a very close fight at UFC 311 considering the wrestle-heavy styles of both combatants. Dvalishvili holds the bantamweight takedown record at 72 while Nurmagomedov has the division’s highest top position percentage at 42.4 percent.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 in Los Angeles click here.