"You're not gonna find a guy who did not win his last fight that moves into a number one contender's match" - Chael Sonnen on the unique spot Sean O'Malley finds himself in
Less than three weeks after his previous fight, Sean O'Malley has a new matchup lined up. 'Sugar' will take a big step-up in competition to face former bantamweight champion Petr Yan. The fight will take place at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on October 22.
Chael Sonnen believes the fight could potentially be for the number one contender spot, which leaves O'Malley in a unique situation. In a recent video posted on his YouTube channel, Sonnen suggested it's interesting that despite not scoring a win in his last outing, O'Malley has moved into a possible title eliminator against Yan.
"This is very interesting guys... You're not going to find somebody whose last fight they did not win... and then find them three spots further up on the next card. Just not gonna find it. You're not going to find a guy who did not win his last fight and then moves into a number one contender's match."
Catch the full video below:
O'Malley most recently took on Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276. The fight ended on an unfortunate note as an accidental eye poke from 'Sugar' resulted in the bout being declared a no contest.
Munhoz vs. O'Malley ruled a no contest after an unintentional eye poke. #UFC276 https://t.co/Mfda0tF640
Sean O'Malley believes his fight against Petr Yan will be bigger than Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw
UFC 280 is shaping up to be one of the best fight cards of the year. Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev, Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady, and Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot are some of the matchups that have been announced for the Fight Island-held event.
UFC 280 is just getting better and better:
Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev
Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley
Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot
Belal Muhammadvs. Sean Brady
Can't wait to see what other fights are added to this card! 🔥 🔥 🔥 https://t.co/IRfgFEx5l6
Two exciting bantamweight scraps in the form of Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw and Sean O'Malley vs. Petr Yan will also take place on the card.
According to O'Malley, his fight versus the Russian will be bigger than the bantamweight title fight taking place on the same night. He said during an appearance on ESPN MMA's DC & RC:
"I'm getting the fight that I wanted and the fight that the people want. 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. I think it's bigger than [Aljamain Sterling] vs. T.J. [Dillashaw]."
Catch the full episode below: