5 potential future opponents for Sean O'Malley after UFC 264
One of the UFC's biggest upcoming prospects, Sean O'Malley, added yet another win to his resume last weekend when he defeated Kris Moutinho via TKO. The victory may well see O'Malley move into the top 15 when the new rankings are released. This brings with it the prospect of multiple new matchups for the eccentric bantamweight.
So there is no better time than now to make a list of the top five potential opponents for O'Malley after his UFC 264 victory. Following the win over Moutinho, O'Malley made four callouts of his fellow bantamweights. Only one of those fighters will be omitted from this list, that man being Petr Yan who is all but guaranteed a rematch with Aljamin Sterling for the 135lb belt next.
Honorable mentions go to Ricky Simon and Brian Kelleher, both of whom showed willingness to step in on short notice to replace O'Malley's original opponent Louis Smolka. Smolka was forced to drop out after contracting a staph infection. Kelleher and Simon are both interesting matchups for O'Malley, but it is likely that he will only be looking at ranked opponents from now on.
#5. Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
As mentioned above, both Kelleher and Simon offered to step in on short notice to fight Sean O'Malley at UFC 264. There was also another 135lb fighter who put his name in the hat, that being the 10th ranked bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili.
Nothing came of Dvalishvili's call-out but fans are now aware of his desire to fight Sean O'Malley. Dvalishvili would be an incredibly tough test for the prospect. He utilizes a brutal wrestling game which involves repeated takedowns and suffocating top pressure. Considering O'Malley's preference to keep the fight on the feet, Dvalishvili could well be his kryptonite.
However, a win against such a high-level wrestler would raise Sean O'Malley's stock exponentially. It would also see him move right into the top ten of the division, placing him only a fight or two away from a title shot.