The hype for the UFC White House card has been steadily building, but Sean O’Malley is still waiting for his call. ‘Suga’ is coming off a clean bounce-back win over Song Yadong at UFC 324, sits at no. 3 in the bantamweight rankings, and has openly chased a Petr Yan rematch for this stage. That should put him in the conversation. Yet, the silence from the UFC is resounding.

“Yeah, they said they’re starting the White House card last week, Tuesday matchmaking,” the former champion said on the BroMalley Show podcast. “They said they were starting it. I haven’t got a call. I haven’t got a jingle. I haven’t heard nothing. So the old Suga show might not be on the White House card.

“I’m seeing Jon Jones. I’m seeing GSP, maybe. Conor vs Nate.”

When legends and legacy fights start circling, merit alone doesn’t always win the slot. After all, even Nate Diaz just put his wish list out there for a UFC return, calling for “McGregor 3,” Dustin Poirier, or Mike Perry, and he even said the White House card would be “dope” with the usual Stockton flair. Conor McGregor didn’t waste time leaning into it. He reposted the Diaz clip with “McGregor 3” and three crown emojis on his Instagram story.

As per recent reports, the White House event is capped at six to seven fights, with 3,000–4,000 in-person seats and a massive simulcast. If McGregor–Diaz 3 becomes even remotely viable, it eats one of those slots. If Jon Jones or a GSP cameo lands, that’s another chair gone. Suddenly, even a popular bantamweight and a former champion, with a fresh win, is fighting for space in a room designed for spectacle.

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So yeah, Sean O’Malley’s concern feels very real. The White House doesn’t care about rankings. It cares about moments. However, there is one name that has been calling for a clash against ‘Suga,’ and he believes they have the potential to put on a barnburner at the South Lawn.

Cory Sandhagen makes his case for a clash against Sean O’Malley at the White House

Cory Sandhagen isn’t waiting around for the White House card to sort itself out. Coming off a competitive loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 320, the bantamweight contender is already looking at what’s next. And he’s aiming his callout straight at Sean O’Malley. Not because it’s safe. Because it sells.

“O’Malley is definitely the guy that there is to fight,” Sandhagen shared on the ONX Sports podcast. “Everyone’s talking about that fight. There’s really, I mean, there’s no reason not to do it. I’m coming off of a really close fight with Merab, where it was a super competitive fight. Still lost, but it was a very competitive fight. He’s coming off of getting finished by Merab – got finished once, but lost to him twice. That’s the fight that everyone’s calling for.”

According to ‘The Sandman’, O’Malley would jump at this because it’s a massive spotlight. In his view, the fight sells itself. He pointed to how recent Paramount+ cards pulled huge numbers, then suggested the White House card could double that since it’s a one-off spectacle. He added that even casual fans from other sports will tune in. In short, it’s not just a good matchup; it’s a numbers fight, and Sandhagen thinks the exposure alone makes it hard to say no.

The question is what the promotion actually wants this card to be. A showcase of legends? Or a snapshot of where the sport is right now? If it’s the latter, leaving a current star like Sean O’Malley off the card would feel like a miss. The ball’s in the UFC’s court now.