Sean O'Malley discusses UFC matchmaking before fight with Aiemann Zahabi

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JANUARY 24: (Sean O'Malley faces Song Yadong of China during the UFC 324 event at T-Mobile Arena on January 24, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC) Sean O’Malley is a star but just because he draws a lot of eyeballs whenever he fights doesn’t mean the UFC just hands him everything on a silver platter. While he’s never shy about asking for what he wants most, O’Malley’s popularity still doesn’t result in him playing matchmaker for his career. Of course that misconception likely stems from O’Malley becoming bantamweight champion and getting his first defense against Marlon “Chito” Vera, who was far from the No. 1 contender but he held the only win over him in the UFC at the time so the rematch was booked. The same goes after O’Malley lost his belt to Merab Dvalishvili one fight later but he was ultimately granted an immediate rematch. But just because O’Malley asked for it, didn’t guarantee the UFC was going to give it to him and he says look no further than how he ended up with Aiemann Zahabi as an opponent at the upcoming White House card. “At first, I asked for Petr [Yan],” O’Malley told MMA Fighting. “They said no. They didn’t say any reason, they didn’t say anything. They just said he’s not available. Then they offered me Aiemann and I said yeah. To be honest, I was trying to fight Aiemann my last fight and they said no. They gave me Song [Yadong]. “It’s kind of funny, people are acting like it’s my decision. I wanted to fight Aiemann last time and they said no, they gave me Song. I wanted to fight Petr, they said no. They gave me Aiemann. UFC does what UFC does and there’s a reason they’re the UFC. So here we are. I’m excited about the matchup.” Of course, the request to face Petr Yan wasn’t exactly unexpected after he dethroned Dvalishvili this past December to become a two-time UFC champion and O’Malley holds a win over him from 2022. But ultimately the UFC didn’t make the rematch so now O’Malley has Zahabi in front of him on arguably the biggest card of the year with a chance to put himself right back in title contention with an impressive win. That said, O’Malley isn’t oblivious to his standing in the division where Dvalishvili has said rather loudly that he’s been promised the next shot at Yan whenever the new champion is ready to fight again. Add to that, O’Malley has two losses on his record to Dvalishvili so he understands he may not be able to jump the line no matter how good he looks on the UFC White House card. “I’d like to say yes [they’ll give me a title shot] but I also just think if they weren’t going to give me the Petr Yan fight on the White House card, I don’t know if they’ll give it to me,” O’Malley said. “I don’t know. Merab fought four title fights in one year. I don’t know if they feel they owe him something. Four title fights in one year is absolutely insane. It really is. Maybe that’s where their head’s at. I know people are like ‘UFC doesn’t care about certain people’ and maybe they do feel like they need to give Merab a rematch or a title shot.’ “I don’t know if a KO will put me in front of Merab. If it does, great. If it doesn’t, I’ll wait for them to fight and kind of go from there.” After sharing the octagon together twice in the past, Dvalishvili has become a fan of O’Malley and he previously told MMA Fighting hat he was rooting for his former opponent to win his fight against Zahabi. O’Malley admitted he maintains a strange relationship with Dvalishvili but he also appreciates the support. But that doesn’t mean O’Malley wouldn’t jump at the chance for a third fight against Dvalishvli and he knows there’s a world where he gets that opportunity. “Even at my last fight, he oddly wants me to win,” O’Malley said about Dvalishvili. “You want the people you beat to win and it makes you look better. I don’t know. I like Merab and I think Merab likes me. It’s a weird relationship. Merab’s an odd guy. He’s hard not to like at the end of the day. He’s a very likeable guy and I would not be surprised if we saw each other in the octagon again. “The last fight he finished me. The fight before that, I believe I snuck out the first, fourth and fifth [rounds]. It might not be a fight the fans really want to see yet. Maybe they never have to see it again but I’m going to go out there and continue to win and if he’s still around, I think that fight will happen again.” As much as he wants to avenge those past losses to Dvalishvili or fight for the title again in a rematch with Yan, none of that matters if he doesn’t get through Zahabi on Sunday at the White House. “I’m not too focused on it, not too worried about it,” O’Malley said. “I do think if it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. But yeah, 100% focus on Aiemann.”