Sean O’Malley Will Fight Petr Yan at UFC 280
Sean O’Malley made an appearance on RC & DC and announced he will be fighting Petr Yan at UFC 280. UFC 280 will take place in Abu Dhabi on October 22. The fight has yet to be officially signed, but both fighters have verbally agreed. This fight is a shocker as O’Malley is ranked 13th in the bantamweight division while Yan is first.
O’Malley is one of the top prospects in the UFC and seems poised to be a future title contender. After fighting to a no contest against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276, there was no clear answer to O’Malley’s future. However, it is evident the UFC feels it is time to push O’Malley closer to the top of the division. This fight continues the trend of O’Malley taking massive leaps in competition. His ascension from Kris Moutinho to Raulian Paiva followed by Pedro Munhoz to Petr Yan is more aggressive in comparison to other fighters’ paths up the rankings. Needless to say, Yan will be a massive test for O’Malley.
For Yan, this is an interesting match-up. After two losses to bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, there is no clear path back to the title. Taking a fight against the up-and-coming O’Malley gives him an opportunity to add a win to his resume. Afterward, he would likely only need one or two more wins to get another title shot.
Additionally, fighting at UFC 280 is likely appealing for Yan. On Wednesday, the UFC announced Sterling would defend the bantamweight belt against TJ Dillashaw. If one of these fighters has to pull out, the UFC would likely turn to Yan to fill in. Obviously, that is just speculation at this point, but it is a very common move, and it ensures a title fight does not fall out.
This fight booking adds to a handful of UFC fight announcements over the last week. These other fight announcements include the aforementioned title bout between Sterling and Dillashaw along with a lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Plus, it became official that Nate Diaz will fight his last UFC fight against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279.
