O'Malley demands Yan rematch but doubts former champion would choose him

Sean O’Malley is pushing hard for a rematch with Petr Yan following Yan’s unanimous decision victory over Merab Dvalishvili in the UFC 333 co-main event on Saturday, but the former bantamweight champion is sceptical that Yan shares his enthusiasm for the fight.

Yan closed out his trilogy with Dvalishvili by winning a second consecutive five-round decision, taking the series 2-1. With that rivalry settled, O’Malley — who holds a controversial 2022 split-decision win over Yan from UFC 280 — positions himself as the logical next opponent, pointing to recent victories over top-10 ranked fighters Aiemann Zahabi and Song Yadong as further justification.

Reacting to the fight live on his YouTube channel, O’Malley was candid about what he believes Yan actually thinks of the matchup. “I don’t think Petr Yan lays in bed and shakes and quivers thinking of fighting me,” O’Malley said. “Do I think he loves the idea of fighting me? I don’t know, probably not. I’m a completely different matchup than anybody he fights. He fights guys like Merab, 5‘5”. Fights Song, 5‘6”. He fights these little guys. I’m big, long, southpaw, orthodox, move a lot. He’s flatfooted. He knows the problems that I present to him. I don’t think he’d pick me if he could choose.”

O’Malley was also visibly surprised that Yan did not call him out during his post-fight interview with cageside commentator Daniel Cormier. Instead, Cormier raised the possibility of a rematch between Yan and Song Yadong, who was present at the event — a suggestion that clearly caught O’Malley off guard.

“I’m surprised Petr didn’t call me out,” O’Malley said. “I don’t know why. It’s the biggest fight to make.” He went on to dismiss the Song conversation entirely, noting that he had already beaten both Yan and Song, and that Yan himself had previously defeated Song on one of O’Malley’s undercards. “It’s got to be me vs. Petr in the United States, early Q2, late Q1, book it,” he said.

Whether O’Malley’s public scepticism is genuine or a calculated attempt to bait Yan into publicly requesting the fight remains open to interpretation. Their original UFC 280 contest remains a point of contention — Yan landed several takedowns that many felt tilted the fight in his favour, yet O’Malley walked away with the split-decision victory. A rematch would give both men a chance to settle the debate.