Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has (finally) agreed to fight No. 1-ranked title contender Merab Dvalishvili. And since “The Machine” has spent the last several weeks begging for a crack at the crown, it would seem matchmakers have an easy layup for an upcoming pay-per-view (PPV) card.
Maybe … maybe not.
“I’m trying to book it, I’m trying to get it booked ASAP,” O’Malley said on TimboSugarShow (transcribed by MMA News). “The only issue is that some of the next pay-per-views aren’t in the country, and I’m not fighting out of the country. Not necessarily because I don’t want to — I don’t want to — but, you know, they have other people that, you know, take other places. But I’m ready to go, I’m f***ing wanting to book a fight ASAP. I just wanna hit him with that knee, boom, flatline him.”
Assuming O’Malley can survive endless takedowns.
UFC 301, UFC 302, UFC 303, and UFC 304 already have headlining fights, and UFC 305 is expected to take place in Perth, featuring this title bout. UFC 306 is currently scheduled for The Sphere in Las Vegas and UFC 307 does not yet have a location. As for UFC 308, that goes down on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi.
Maybe “Suga” needs to settle for a co-main event?