"Any of us could be world champions" - Bantamweight legend weighs in on UFC booking Sean O'Malley vs. Petr Yan

Petr Yan (left) vs. Sean O'Malley (right) [via @espnmma on Twitter]

Former UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz recently weighed in on a potential outing between Sean O'Malley and Petr Yan. 'The Dominator' labeled it a 'fun' matchup and possibly a 'tough' outing for O'Malley.

Cruz noted that the fight could rile things up in the bantamweight division, which is already highly stacked. According to the former UFC champ, anyone from the top ten UFC bantamweights can become a champion at any moment. The 37-year-old recently told Helen Yee:

"Man that's a tough matchup for O'Malley. But I love it, it makes it fun. Yan, he's a little shorter. And O'Malley's tall, obviously. He's a southpaw. But we can also see Yan switching stances, he goes back and forth... It's gonna be a fun one to watch. The bantamweight division is on fire. I mean anybody in the top eight or nine, basically top ten, any of us could be world champions at any given moment."

O'Malley recently announced to ESPN's Ryan Clark that he would face number one contender Petr Yan at UFC 280 on October 22. Yan will be a big step up for the No.13 ranked 'Sugar', who is yet to be truly tested against elite competition.

O'Malley's last outing against the No.9 ranked Pedro Munhoz ended in a no-contest due to an accidental eye-poke from 'Sugar'. Meanwhile, Yan is coming off a title loss to Aljamain Sterling via a controversial split decision at UFC 273.

Watch Dominick Cruz's interview with Helen Yee below:

Sean O'Malley believes his bout against Petr Yan is biggest bantamweight fight right now

'Sugar' is undoubtedly one of the biggest draws in the sport, irrespective of his place in the bantamweight rankings. Meanwhile, Yan makes up for what he lacks in star power with his performance.

According to O'Malley, his bout against the former champ is the biggest fight in the UFC bantamweight division at the moment. Considering the nature of Yan's losses against Aljamain Sterling, Sean O'Malley believes 'No Mercy' could even be considered the bantamweight champion. The 27-year-old told ESPN's Ryan Clark:

"I'm getting the fight that I wanted and the fight that the people want," O'Malley told Clark. "In my eyes, Petr is the No. 1 contender right now. He's pretty much 1-1 against Aljo [Aljamain Sterling] ... he could be considered the champion. ... Going in there and stepping up against a guy like Petr is exciting, it's motivating and it's the biggest fight in the bantamweight division right now."

Yan vs. O’Malley in Abu Dhabi, per DC/RC on @espnmma YouTube. No slowing down for O’Malley now. Deep end. https://t.co/4twpwuJEmQ

Sean O'Malley has opened as a massive +400 underdog to Petr Yan's -300 favorite in the betting books.

Here are the opening odds for Petr Yan vs. Sean O'Malley:

Petr Yan -400 (1/4)
Sean O’Malley +300 (3/1)

(odds via @betonline_ag) 👀 #UFC280 https://t.co/LVfOqwDqii