Petr Yan opens as massive betting favorite against Sean O'Malley for UFC 280 fight

Petr Yan (L) Sean O'Malley (R) [Credits: Instagram @sugaseanmma]

Sean O'Malley is finally breaking into the upper echelon of the UFC's bantamweight division. On an episode of DC & RC, O'Malley announced that he will be taking on former champion Petr Yan at UFC 280, which takes place on October 22 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

This fight will be quite the jump in competition for 'Suga', who only recently broke into the top-10 after facing Pedro Munhoz, who is ranked nine. In that bout, the fans could hardly get a glimpse of how O'Malley would fare against a top-ranked opponent, as the bout ended early in the second round due to an accidental eye poke.

Fans and the media seem doubtful that O'Malley is ready for such a step up, with the early odds being stacked against him.

See the odds for the fight below:

The lines have already moved to:

Petr Yan -500 (1/5)
Sean O’Malley +375 (15/4)

(odds via @betonline_ag) #UFC280

To O'Malley's credit, he doesn't seem deterred from this bout, calling it a fight he wants and one that he's excited for. O'Malley has been connected to Yan for some time now, saying previously that he would give Yan a 'big problem'.

O'Malley also described the fight as one the people wanted, stating:

"I'm getting the fight that I wanted, and the fight that the people want. I'm fighting Petr Yan October 22nd in Abu Dhabi... I'm so excited for this like I almost can't even believe it's real."

October 22 has a stacked card, and it just got even more interesting. It will also now be an opportunity for 'Suga' to prove a lot of doubters wrong.

You can watch O'Malley's full announcement below:

"Bigger than Aljo vs TJ" - Sean O'Malley on his fight with Yan

Sean O'Malley's fight announcement comes with some interesting positioning considering it was added to the UFC 280 card. The card also features current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling defending his title against former champion TJ Dillashaw.

The UFC will at times intentionally do this to line up the next match for the champion on the same night, i.e Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira at UFC 276. O'Malley, in his announcement, made a bold statement calling his bout bigger than the championship match stating:

"It's the biggest fight in the bantamweight division right now. I think it's bigger than Aljo vs TJ."

Regardless of which ends up being bigger, fans will be treated to a stacked and exciting card on October 22 when the UFC returns to Abu Dhabi. Should it be a successful night for Sean O'Malley, it is very possible he may catapault into a title shot if he is able to get past 'No Mercy' at UFC 280.