In the MMA realm, hypothetical scenarios involving fighters from different weight classes emerge every day, quickly building excitement but often fading just as fast. Yet, one bout that remains on top is the potential ‘super-fight’ between former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and current featherweight king Ilia Topuria. ‘El Matador’, who joined the world’s biggest mixed martial arts promotion with aspirations to become the next Conor McGregor, shares a similar hunger for greatness.

But how would a scrap between these two young, dynamic fighters look like? Few could predict the scenario as accurately as UFC veteran Chael Sonnen, with his 27 years of professional experience. In a recent Instagram video, Sonnen stated the idea of this intriguing hypothetical match-up, “A super fight between Sean O’Malley and Ilia Topuria—how massive could that be? They could do that fight right now; it’s not a crazy idea.”

After losing his 135lbs title to Merab Dvalishvili at the historic UFC 306 in the Sphere back in September—where he also suffered a hip injury—’Suga’ is considering a 9 to 10-month break to evaluate his UFC journey. ‘The Bad Guy’ further linked this break to Sean O’Malley’s potential goal of moving up to featherweight to face Ilia Topuria. As Sonnen explained, “I get all that, but what if he did take 10 months, added some size, and then came back to challenge Ilia Topuria? I don’t see that as a smaller fight; I see it as a massive one.”

This idea was first brought to light by O’Malley shortly after he settled his account with Marlon Vera at UFC 299 earlier this year, showcasing a Conor McGregor type of analogy. However, with Ilia Topuria’s recent knockout win over Max Holloway, there is renewed interest in a showdown with the Montana native.

Will Sean O’Malley climb up to 145lbs for his next outing?

Despite losing his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili in a disappointing fashion, Sean O’Malley still keeps his head up like a champion, carrying new aspirations in his pocket. One of them is moving up a weight division to secure a massive fight against Ilia Topuria. O’Malley and ‘El Matador’ have not seen eye to eye when ‘Suga’ was champion, and that animosity hasn’t faded one bit.

Sean O’Malley’s first aim is to reclaim his lost glory by dethroning Dvalishvili, but he is also determined to embark on a journey to become a dual-weight champion by taking down the Spanish-Georgian. In a video posted by Happy Punch on X, ‘Suga’ admitted, “God, can you guys imagine if I’d have gone out there and knocked out Merab and Ilia just knocked out Max? How big of a super fight that would’ve been? Fck! It’s okay, I’m gonna get it back. I’m gonna climb the ladder, climb back up. I want super fights; I want the biggest fcking fights out there, and we’ll get that one one of these days.”

What are your thoughts on Chael Sonnen’s claim? Could the matchup between Ilia Topuria and Sean O’Malley become a monumental fight that sets new records for PPV sales, surpassing those of landmark UFC events? Drop your opinion below.