Sean O’Malley (20-3, 1 NC) says a rematch with Petr Yan (20-5) is inevitable and that he is willing to wait for it.
A trilogy bout between Yan and Merab Dvalishvili (21-5) for the UFC bantamweight title is expected, although it has not been officially announced. Their series is tied 1-1, with Yan earning the most recent victory by unanimous decision at UFC 323 in December 2025.
Both fighters have dealt with injuries since that fight, with Yan’s recovery from lower-back surgery serving as the primary cause of the delay.
“Petr’s the champ. If I don’t get that next, I wait. If Petr beats Merab, me vs. Petr. How do you not make that fight?” O’Malley
“Absolutely [it’s the biggest fight in bantamweight history]. I would love to hear someone’s argument. I think me vs. Chito is the biggest fight as of now. As far as numbers, gate, that was the biggest bantamweight fight in history. I think me vs. Petr would beat that,” O’Malley
O’Malley defeated Yan by split decision in October 2022, although the result was heavily debated at the time. The victory earned O’Malley a title shot against Aljamain Sterling, and he capitalized on the opportunity by scoring a second-round TKO to capture the UFC bantamweight championship.