O'Malley welcomes Talbott fight but flatly denies ducking claim: 'He made it up'

Sean O’Malley is open to fighting Payton Talbott, but he is not prepared to let the rising bantamweight contender shape the story around their potential matchup. Speaking on The SuGuru Show, O’Malley denied ever being offered Talbott as an opponent for UFC White House in June, directly contradicting claims Talbott has made publicly.

Talbott renewed his callout of O’Malley at UFC 332 last Saturday after a lopsided knockout win over Deiveson Figueiredo, a result that continued his rapid climb up the bantamweight rankings. It was not the first time Talbott had pushed the idea that the two could have already fought, alleging O’Malley turned the fight down.

“We’ll address the ducking allegations first of all,” O’Malley said. “I swear on my family I did not get offered Payton Talbott at the White House. Here’s the thing, if he can also swear that he did, then there was miscommunication somewhere on the line. I feel like he made it up. I don’t think he ever got offered me.”

O’Malley’s immediate attention is fixed on the bantamweight championship trilogy between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333 on October 24 in Abu Dhabi. He holds a split decision win over Yan and believes a rematch is the logical next step if Yan reclaims the title. Dvalishvili, however, has beaten O’Malley twice — though O’Malley disputes the outcome of their first meeting — making a third fight between them an unlikely booking.

That scenario is precisely what could accelerate an O’Malley vs. Talbott fight. “If Petr goes out there and loses, let’s squabble, me and Payton, let’s make it happen,” O’Malley said. “If Petr goes out there and wins, I’m ducking [Talbott] for a tougher fight. I’m ducking him for Petr Yan.”

O’Malley also took a pointed swipe at the calibre of Talbott’s recent opponents, noting that both Figueiredo and Henry Cejudo — Talbott’s last two victims — are former flyweight champions who moved up in weight and are considerably smaller and older than the 28-year-old Talbott.

“Why would I fight this tall, lanky, good striker, when I can fight Petr Yan?” O’Malley said, before acknowledging the credentials of Talbott’s opponents. “Deiveson Figueiredo, former world champion. Legend. Henry Cejudo, did a pretty good job when he used to fight.”

O’Malley pointed to his own recent résumé as evidence he is not avoiding difficult matchups, having faced Yan, Aljamain Sterling, and Dvalishvili — three fighters he described as among the greatest bantamweights of all time — across his last seven bouts.