Petr Yan sends short and sharp warning to Sean O'Malley following fight announcement

Petr Yan (left), Sean O'Malley (right) [Images courtesy: @archangl_michael and @sugaseanmma via Instagram]

Sean O'Malley recently announced on ESPN MMA’s DC & RC Show that he will take on former bantamweight champion Petr Yan at UFC 280 on October 22 in Abu Dhabi.

After the news broke, 'No Mercy' issued a short and sharp warning to his next opponent as he wrote on Twitter:

"My [fists emoji] will do the talking"

My 👊🏼👊🏼 will do the talking 🤫 twitter.com/espnmma/status…

Following the fight's announcement, Yan's manager Daniel Rubenstein revealed on The MMA Hour that the bout is only verbally agreed upon, and the contracts are yet to be signed by the fighters.

If the fight finally becomes official, it will be a massive leap in competition for Sean O'Malley. 'Sugar' fought to a no-contest against No.9-ranked Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 earlier this month. The fight against Yan presents a big opportunity for the rising bantamweight prospect to prove the doubters wrong. The 27-year-old could also likely catapult himself straight into a title shot if he gets past the No.1-ranked Petr Yan.

Sean O'Malley opens as an underdog against Petr Yan

Sean O'Malley has opened up as a betting underdog against former bantamweight champion Petr Yan in their potential matchup. This is the first time in O'Malley's career that he is not the favorite to win.

According to popular sportsbook BetOnline, Petr Yan opened up as a massive -400 favorite to beat 'Sugar', who returned as a +300 underdog.

Check out the tweet on the odds from BT Sport's Chamatkar Sandhu:

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

It's not hard to see why the odds are so heavily stacked in favor of 'No Mercy'. The Russian has looked nothing short of impressive throughout his career. He has only lost to Aljamain Sterling in his UFC tenure and holds wins over the likes of Cory Sandhagen, Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, and Magomed Magomedov, among others.

The Russian hasn't fought since losing a split-decision title rematch against Sterling in April and will be determined to earn another shot at gold.

Sean O'Malley, meanwhile, was riding a three-fight win streak prior to his recent no-contest against Pedro Munhoz. The 27-year-old won all three of those fights via stoppage. While 'Sugar' will no doubt face the sternest test of his UFC career against Petr Yan, a win could solidify him as the next title challenger in the stacked division.

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UFC 280 is shaping up to be one of the most entertaining pay-per-view cards of the year. The event will be headlined by a lightweight title showdown between No.1-ranked Charles Oliveira and No.4-ranked Islam Makhachev. Aljamain Sterling vs. TJ Dillashaw is expected to take the co-main event spot on the fight card with the bantamweight gold on the line.

The event will also feature a welterweight clash between Belal Muhammad and Sean Brady. There have also been talks that the UFC is planning to add Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot to the card.