Sean O’Malley To Renegotiate UFC Contract, Awaits Title Shot Vs. Aljamain Sterling

After claiming a win against Petr Yan, one of the top contenders in the division, Sean O’Malley thinks he can translate his performance into more dollars.

O’Malley scraped up a split decision victory against Yan, a former bantamweight champion. Though their fight was not for a title, their matchup remained one of the most talked about bouts on the card of UFC 280.

Before the fight, O’Malley compared to a potential win over Yan being somewhat similar to when Conor McGregor pulled an upset win over veteran former champion Jose Aldo.

“What’s considered a Conor-Aldo moment?” O’Malley said at the post-fight presser.

“Do I have to knock someone out in 13 seconds? Because that’s going to be hard to do.

“But as far as blowing up, I don’t know, we’ll have to see the next couple of weeks. I can almost guarantee I’m going to go sit down and renegotiate my contract after that. It could be [that kind of moment].”

Also before Saturday, UFC President Dana White said that the winner between Yan and O’Malley would get a direct title shot against champion Aljamain Sterling.

Sterling, who also fought on the card on Saturday, successfully defended his strap against TJ Dillashaw by second-round TKO.

“What really gets me excited is guys like Petr who are just like—I knew it was going to be a sweet kickboxing match with a little wrestling,” O’Malley said.

“Aljo, he’s good everywhere, but he’s mostly a grappler. So it’s an interesting fight.

“… The people want me to be champ, so it’s going to happen sooner than later.”