Tag: petr yan

Sean O’Malley Shuts Down Petr Yan’s Rematch Request, Keeps Sights On Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O’Malley appears to have nothing in his crosshairs except redemption opposite UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili next year. O’Malley was thrust off the throne in emphatic fashion by Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 306 at the Sphere this past September, bringing an end to his reign in its second defense. “Sugar” subsequently […]

Sean O’Malley appears to have nothing in his crosshairs except redemption opposite UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili next year.

O’Malley was thrust off the throne in emphatic fashion by Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 306 at the Sphere this past September, bringing an end to his reign in its second defense.

“Sugar” subsequently headed for surgery to repair a torn labrum and is targeting a return in the first or second quarter of 2025. And he was recently called out by a familiar foe for his comeback fight.

“I would lean towards a rematch with Sean O’Malley,” Petr Yan told Ariel Helwani. “I don’t know what’s going on with him. He’s out for nine or 12 months, so maybe he got pregnant.”

Yan’s comments come after he made it two wins from two in 2024 by outpointing Deiveson Figueiredo in Macau. While he’s gone back and forth with Dvalishvili over a rematch for the title, Umar Nurmagomedov is widely seen as the deserving next in line at 135 pounds.

With that in mind, the Russian may need to look elsewhere for his next assignment. And judging by O’Malley’s reaction to his request for a redo, his door has been firmly shut for “No Mercy.”

“I predict it will be early Q2. Against Merab. Thanks for asking,” O’Malley wrote in his response on X.

O’Malley has repeatedly outlined his intention to return straight into a shot at avenging his decision defeat to “The Machine.”

With the timeline for Nurmagomedov’s expected maiden title opportunity still uncertain as the year approaches its conclusion, it remains to be seen what lies ahead for both O’Malley and Yan in 2025.

Daniel Cormier Ready to Take Over UFC Matchmaking Duties, Fantasy Books Bantamweight Top 10

Daniel Cormier Ready to Take Over UFC Matchmaking Duties, Fantasy Books Bantamweight Top 10Stand back Sean Shelby, Daniel Cormier has got this. The UFC’s bantamweight division is perhaps the most stacked weight…

Daniel Cormier Ready to Take Over UFC Matchmaking Duties, Fantasy Books Bantamweight Top 10

Stand back Sean Shelby, Daniel Cormier has got this.

The UFC’s bantamweight division is perhaps the most stacked weight class in all of mixed martial arts, boasting a slew of former and future world champions like Sean O’Malley, Petr Yan, Deiveson Figueiredo, Henry Cejudo, and Umar Nurmagomedov.

Then there’s 135-pound titleholder Merab Dvalishvili who’s coming off a stellar performance against ‘Sugar’ at UFC 306 in Las Vegas.

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Riding an 11-fight win streak dating back to 2018, ‘The Machine’ will look to keep his unbeaten run alive when he inevitably locks up with the No. 2 ranked Nurmagomedov in 2025.

But what about the rest of the division?

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Cormier Reveals his bantamweight wishlist

Following Petr Yan’s impressive win over Figueiredo in Macau, there are a lot of intriguing matchups to be had at 135. Doing the UFC’s job for them, Cormier broke down what he believes are the bantamweight matches that the promotion should be booking for the new year.

“There is a bunch of guys at 135 that need to be matched up. So I figured, it’s time for some matchmaking,” Cormier said on his ESPN show Good Guy/Bad Guy with Chael Sonnen. “For the title…easy, Merab vs. Umar. … Then I go Yan vs. Sandhagen (2) as my second fight, Chael. Because then it gives you a clear number one contender.

“Sean O’Malley needs a big fight, right? You know who else needs a big fight? Henry Cejudo. These guys have a beef, an easy beef to sell…I say put Sean O’Malley in there with the former champion Henry Cejudo. That means more than a win over Cory Sandhagen,” Cormier continued. “After that, I’m going Figgy (Deiveson Figueiredo) vs. Dominick Cruz. And my last one, Chael, we’ve got to give Mario Bautista a chance. … I’m giving him (Marlon) ‘Chito’ Vera” (h/t MMA News).

Chances are, Sean O’Malley will walk straight into a title fight once he’s ready to return following the loss against Dvalishvili in Vegas.

Also, Yan seems to think that his win over Figueiredo has already made him worthy of a rematch with ‘The Machine,’ as evidenced by his recent post on social media responding to the reigning champ’s praise.

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Dvalishvili seemed to like the idea, even going so far as to offer ‘No Mercy’ an exact date for their potential rematch.

“Great fight Petr (Yan),” Dvalishvili said in a video posted on X. “I like your callout, and I like your respect. Let’s go again, after 2 years. March 8th, T Mobile. Let’s f*cking go.”

What bantamweight matchups would you like to see in the coming year?

Daniel Cormier Pitches Next Fights For O’Malley, Yan, Figueiredo At Bantamweight

Former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier has some matchups in mind for the bantamweight division in 2025, including the next outings for Sean O’Malley and Petr Yan. The 135-pound weight class is entering the new year with a fresh champion at the helm and a number of hungry contenders chasing him down. Merab Dvalishvili achieved […]

Former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier has some matchups in mind for the bantamweight division in 2025, including the next outings for Sean O’Malley and Petr Yan.

The 135-pound weight class is entering the new year with a fresh champion at the helm and a number of hungry contenders chasing him down.

Merab Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage by dethroning O’Malley inside the Sphere this past September. While “Suga” eyes a shot at redemption in his return from injury next March or April, Umar Nurmagomedov sits as the consensus number one contender.

In spite of the Georgian’s ongoing attempts to push that matchup away, the Dagestani has plenty of support when it comes to his claim to an opportunity, including from Cormier.

During a recent episode of his Good Guy/Bad Guy show alongside Chael Sonnen on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, Cormier pointed to Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov as the logical next title fight in the bantamweight division.

And in terms of how the rest of the top names should be matched up, “DC” has some ideas for that too.

“There is a bunch of guys at 135 that need to be matched up. So I figured, it’s time for some matchmaking,” Cormier began. “For the title…easy, Merab vs. Umar. … Then I go Yan vs. Sandhagen (2) as my second fight, Chael. Because then it gives you a clear number one contender.

“Sean O’Malley needs a big fight, right? You know who else needs a big fight? Henry Cejudo. These guys have a beef, an easy beef to sell…I say put Sean O’Malley in there with the former champion Henry Cejudo. That means more than a win over Cory Sandhagen,” Cormier continued. “After that, I’m going Figgy (Deiveson Figueiredo) vs. Dominick Cruz. And my last one, Chael, we’ve got to give Mario Bautista a chance. … I’m giving him (Marlon) ‘Chito’ Vera.”

It remains to be seen whether or not the UFC higher-ups will share Cormier’s view of the division. For now, it doesn’t appear the champ himself does.

Having previously pointed to others as more worthy of challenging for his gold than Nurmagomedov, Dvalishvili most recently called for a rematch with Yan following “No Mercy’s” decision win over Figueiredo in Macau last weekend.

Cory Sandhagen Suggests Petr Yan Rematch In 2025: ‘I Still Want To Get That One Back’

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen has become the latest to express interest in running it back with ex-champion Petr Yan next year. Yan continued his winning form at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Macau, China, where he headlined in defense of his position on the 135-pound ladder against former two-time flyweight kingpin Deiveson […]

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen has become the latest to express interest in running it back with ex-champion Petr Yan next year.

Yan continued his winning form at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Macau, China, where he headlined in defense of his position on the 135-pound ladder against former two-time flyweight kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo.

Having snapped a three-fight losing skid with a victory over Song Yadong this past March, “No Mercy” got back to a win streak at the expense of “Deus Da Guerra,” whom he defeated by way of a lopsided unanimous decision.

Among others, Yan’s display caught the eye of a familiar foe…

In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sandhagen broke down Yan’s victorious performance against Figueiredo.

During it, “The Sandman” pointed to a rematch opposite the Russian as a possible next assignment for him in 2025, having fallen short of staking his claim for a title shot when sharing the cage with Umar Nurmagomedov this past August.

Sandhagen previously lost to Yan in their interim title fight, which played out at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi just over three years ago.

“Congrats to Yan, maybe we’ll do it next,” Sandhagen said. “I don’t really know what the division’s going on. I haven’t really heard too much. I was hoping to hear probably sometime next week about the direction that they are going to go in because I know they were waiting on this fight to play out.

“Congrats to Yan. I still want to get that one back,” Sandhagen continued. “We’ll see if it’ll be next or not.”

Yan has already responded to one of his former opponents requesting a second dance, none other than the bantamweight champ himself.

In his continued trend of calling to face top contenders not named Umar Nurmagomedov, Dvalishvili suggested his first title defense in 2025 should come against the man whom he dominantly 50-45’d on the scorecards last year.

Sean O’Malley Slams Merab Dvalishvili Pushing For Petr Yan Rematch: ‘Sh*tting Himself Terrified Of Umar’

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September. Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds. In attendance was Umar […]

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September.

Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds.

In attendance was Umar Nurmagomedov, the consensus number one contender who staked his claim for a shot against the Noche UFC main event winner when he defeated Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi the previous month.

But the Dagestani hasn’t been getting a positive response from the champ ever since, with “The Machine” instead first branding Deiveson Figueiredo a more worthy challenger before pitching dates to run it back with both O’Malley and Petr Yan.

The latter caught Dvalishvili’s attention when he outpointed Figueiredo in this past weekend’s UFC Macau main event. The Georgian has called for “No Mercy” to be the opponent in his first defense at UFC 313 next March.

During a recent episode of his TimboSugarShow alongside coach Tim Welch, O’Malley joined plenty in calling out Dvalishvili’s push to once again face Yan, whom he convincingly defeated across five rounds in March 2023.

“Sugar” echoed the sentiments of Nurmagomedov himself, branding the newly crowned bantamweight kingpin “terrified” of him.

“Umar wants to fight Merab in January. Petr wants to fight Merab in March. I want to fight Merab in April,” O’Malley said. “Merab is absolutely sh*tting himself terrified of Umar. He doesn’t want to fight Umar. Now he’s saying he wants to fight Petr. He wanted to fight me. Petr got 50-45’d to Merab.”

It remains to be seen whether or not Nurmagomedov will indeed get his shot next. Be it a title opportunity or clash against another contender, the Dagestani has insisted on a return to action before he observes Ramadan in 2025.

O’Malley, meanwhile, has made his intentions of pursuing redemption against Dvalishvili upon his recovery from labrum surgery next year clear.

For now, though, the Georgian continues to campaign for a second dance opposite Yan.

Sean O’Malley Slams Merab Dvalishvili Pushing For Petr Yan Rematch: ‘Sh*tting Himself Terrified Of Umar’

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September. Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds. In attendance was Umar […]

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley hasn’t been impressed with the actions of Merab Dvalishvili since he ascended to the throne this past September.

Dvalishvili achieved his title ambitions on MMA’s biggest stage inside the unique surroundings of the Sphere, where he comfortably got the better of O’Malley across five rounds.

In attendance was Umar Nurmagomedov, the consensus number one contender who staked his claim for a shot against the Noche UFC main event winner when he defeated Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi the previous month.

But the Dagestani hasn’t been getting a positive response from the champ ever since, with “The Machine” instead first branding Deiveson Figueiredo a more worthy challenger before pitching dates to run it back with both O’Malley and Petr Yan.

The latter caught Dvalishvili’s attention when he outpointed Figueiredo in this past weekend’s UFC Macau main event. The Georgian has called for “No Mercy” to be the opponent in his first defense at UFC 313 next March.

During a recent episode of his TimboSugarShow alongside coach Tim Welch, O’Malley joined plenty in calling out Dvalishvili’s push to once again face Yan, whom he convincingly defeated across five rounds in March 2023.

“Sugar” echoed the sentiments of Nurmagomedov himself, branding the newly crowned bantamweight kingpin “terrified” of him.

“Umar wants to fight Merab in January. Petr wants to fight Merab in March. I want to fight Merab in April,” O’Malley said. “Merab is absolutely sh*tting himself terrified of Umar. He doesn’t want to fight Umar. Now he’s saying he wants to fight Petr. He wanted to fight me. Petr got 50-45’d to Merab.”

It remains to be seen whether or not Nurmagomedov will indeed get his shot next. Be it a title opportunity or clash against another contender, the Dagestani has insisted on a return to action before he observes Ramadan in 2025.

O’Malley, meanwhile, has made his intentions of pursuing redemption against Dvalishvili upon his recovery from labrum surgery next year clear.

For now, though, the Georgian continues to campaign for a second dance opposite Yan.