Yan claims UFC shielded O'Malley from title fight at White House to protect him

Petr Yan has accused the UFC of deliberately steering Sean O’Malley away from a title fight at UFC White House, claiming the promotion was unwilling to risk its former champion suffering a defeat on such a high-profile stage.

O’Malley appeared at the event last weekend, stopping Aiemann Zahabi by knockout in the second round of their bantamweight contest despite absorbing heavy inside leg kicks throughout. Following the win, O’Malley publicly called for a title shot against Yan — only for the current champion to claim that opportunity had already been on the table and was taken away.

“The UFC were afraid for you!” Yan wrote on his Instagram Stories. “They needed to be sure that you would win in the White House! They didn’t want you to get beaten in the White House! I gave my consent! That’s why they gave you someone you can at least handle!”

The accusation adds a sharp edge to what is already a rivalry with unfinished business. O’Malley defeated Yan by controversial split decision in 2022, a result that helped launch “Suga” toward a title shot. He subsequently dethroned Aljamain Sterling to claim the bantamweight belt and made one successful defence before losing it to Merab Dvalishvili. A rematch with Dvalishvili also ended in defeat, but O’Malley has since strung together back-to-back wins over Yadong Song and Zahabi.

Yan, meanwhile, has been on a different trajectory entirely. “No Mercy” enters this dispute riding a four-fight winning streak, the most significant result of which was a clinical title victory over Dvalishvili this past December — the same man who twice beat O’Malley.

With O’Malley now publicly demanding a rematch and Yan insisting he was already willing to take the fight, the UFC faces mounting pressure to book what would be one of the most anticipated bantamweight rematches in recent memory. Whether the promotion’s matchmaking decisions were as calculated as Yan suggests remains unconfirmed, but the champion’s public broadside ensures the conversation will not fade quietly.