O'Malley walks off after second-round knockout of Zahabi at UFC White House

Sean O’Malley stopped Aiemann Zahabi with a walkoff knockout at 4:02 of the second round at UFC White House on Sunday, fulfilling a pre-fight promise to finish the Canadian and immediately demanding a shot at bantamweight champion Petr Yan.

O’Malley controlled the opening round with his reach advantage, mixing a long jab with heavy right hands to keep Zahabi guessing and on the back foot. Zahabi worked his inside leg kick and circled away effectively, but struggled to generate any sustained offence when he did move forward, running into stiff counters each time.

The finish came late in the second round. O’Malley landed a straight left hand that rattled Zahabi and sent him to the canvas for the first time. Zahabi beat the count, but O’Malley immediately followed with a crushing right hand that put him down again, and referee Jason Herzog waved it off. As the punch landed, O’Malley turned toward the crowd and gave a military salute — a nod to the event’s White House setting — before celebrating the highlight-reel finish.

“It’s hard to put into words,” O’Malley said afterwards. “Manifestation is a real thing. I’ve seen this before. That was the plan. I said it, it’s out there. That was sexy. Petr Yan — it should have been here tonight. That’s what I want next. I want Petr next.”

The callout carries weight. O’Malley holds a prior win over Yan, the current UFC bantamweight champion, and the victory on Sunday keeps him firmly in the title picture. Yan is expected to face Merab Dvalishvili in a rematch later this year, and a win there could set up a high-profile second meeting between Yan and O’Malley.