With his return to the win column, Sean O’Malley doesn’t want to give up his momentum. A hard-fought battle saw him secure a unanimous victory over Song Yadong in the UFC 324 co-main event. The 31-year-old former bantamweight titleholder now wants to keep his run going. During the post-fight interview, he made it clear: he wants the championship belt, which means a rematch against Petr Yan.

Sean O’Malley‘s ambitions, however, could face hurdles. While Petr Yan doesn’t appear ready to deviate from the UFC’s directive, saying he will fight whoever the promotion decides, he suggested O’Malley, or any contender, could be in for a rude awakening.

Petr Yan unfazed by Sean O’Malley’s callout

It was apparent Yan was trying to downplay his former foe, who handed him his fourth professional loss. Unfazed by the bantamweight division’s latest shake-up, which could move O’Malley closer to a title shot, the champion posted with a visible yawn: “Just woke up 🥱 Anything important happened?”

Later, he caught wind of O’Malley’s public callout. “After defeating Yadong, the former champion exclaimed, “Championship mindset, baby!” and added, “Petr Yan has something that I want.” Acknowledging the current pecking order, with Merab Dvalishvili positioned ahead of him, O’Malley continued: “But Petr Yan, you want that rematch, I want that belt, let’s make it happen. This feels so f-cking good. I hate losing.”

Yan promptly fired back, “I don’t choose my opponents. Whoever the UFC puts in front of me next is going into deep waters.” The Russian fighter won the bantamweight title on December 6 at UFC 323, avenging his 2023 loss to Dvalishvili in decisive fashion.

Against O’Malley’s wishes, Yan may already have mapped out his next move. At a recent IBA Pro Boxing event in Dubai, he said his next opponent would not hinge on the UFC 324 co-main result. Instead, the likely matchup is against the division’s top-ranked contender, Merab Dvalishvili. Yan expects their trilogy bout to take place in the spring or summer. That said, Dvalishvili himself remains skeptical about the prospects of a Yan fight on the much-discussed White House card.

So, regardless of O’Malley’s victory, the UFC appears to have already moved forward.

Other options on the table for O’Malley

If Yan’s schedule is filling up, O’Malley may have to look elsewhere until the top slot opens for another title attempt. Ahead of the event, he claimed he isn’t overly weighed down by the rankings. Weighing his options, he said, “If people want to see me vs. Petr rematch at the White House, you know I think that’s the biggest fight.”

While he left the door open for fights with Merab Dvalishvili or Umar Nurmagomedov, the most reasonable alternative appears to be Cory Sandhagen, who currently sits one spot below him in the rankings. To that end, the Colorado native, who lost to Dvalishvili last October, has already called out O’Malley.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Sandhagen expressed interest in the matchup, saying, “I’m definitely not opposed to it for sure. You know, I think that the whole world has been asking for me and O’Malley to fight, and we’re both, I would say, pretty close to the peaks of our careers, if not right in the center of them. So, I mean, I don’t know why we wouldn’t fight.”

A bout against Umar could be just as appealing to fans. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin extended his winning streak by defeating former two-time champion Deiveson Figueiredo on the UFC 324 main card.