After 297 saw the crowning of two new champions, it’s time to shift our focus to UFC 298. Meanwhile, UFC 299 will have bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, defending his title for the first time against former rival Marlon Vera in a rematch. However, he already has his sights on his next fight, which he wants to take place at Dana White‘s favorite arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

UFC 298 will be headlined by Alexander Volkanovski, who’ll defend his featherweight strap against Ilia Topuria. He has risen through the ranks with an undefeated run that ushered him into the title picture. With the biggest fight of his life coming up, the featherweight title contender has sparked interest from another champion, Sean O’Malley.

Sean O’Malley is gunning for a fight against Ilia Topuria

It seems like the bantamweight champion is keeping an eye out for what is happening in the featherweight division. Sean O’Malley recently had an interview with ESPN, where he mentioned that if Ilia Topuria can defeat Alexander Volkanovski, he will be willing to fight him after getting his business done with Marlon Vera. He said, “If Ilia goes out there and beats Volk, I’m gonna go out and beat Chito. That’s the next fight.”

‘Suga’ believes that his fight against Topuria is a big one and wants it to happen in the biggest venue of the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas. Furthermore, his choice of venue is the one that Dana White has fallen in love with, the Sphere. “Me vs Ilia in Las Vegas at the Sphere. Biggest card of the year, probably sometime next year. I’m gonna take him out,” Sean O’Malley added.

While that’s said and done, the 135 lbs champion provided an analysis of the upcoming UFC 298 headliner, claiming that Ilia Topuria might have a chance at winning.

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‘Suga’ believes Topuria could be the one to dethrone ‘The Great’

The way Alexander Volkanovski’s been handling his business in the featherweight division, people are wondering could be the one to beat the Aussie ace. Sean O’Malley thinks Ilia Topuria is the one to do that due to his credibility as a legit contender in the division. ‘Suga’ further stated, “If anybody can beat Volk, it would be Ilia. This guy [got] legit skills. He’s a very scary striker, good grappler [and] mentally, sharp as it is.”

Some people may not agree with what Sean O’Malley thinks about Ilia Topuria, but the bantamweight champion thinks that the Georgian and Spanish national is the real deal and a fight against him would be a huge one. “I just think that would be a massive fight… Ilia’s a little, you know, slow or stupid or whatever you wanna say, but he can fight,” O’Malley added.

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Before Sean O’Malley gets to Ilia Topuria, he has to deal with Marlon Vera, against whom he suffered his only defeat in the UFC. ‘Suga’ wants to rectify that mistake and shut ‘Chito’ up for good. It remains to be seen how things pan out for O’Malley at UFC 299. Will he successfully defend his title? Let us know in the comments section.

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