Henry Cejudo isn’t sure exactly who is next for UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan, but it better not be Sean O’Malley.
“Suga” scored a much-needed win this past Saturday in the UFC 324 co-main event, winning a unanimous decision over Song Yadong that was light on highlights and competitive throughout. Given O’Malley’s popularity, it’s possible that victory was enough to vault the former 135-pound titleholder into another crack at the belt, and he told reporters afterward he’s comfortable with his position and willing to wait for his turn if Yan books a trilogy bout with Merab Dvalishvili.
On his Pound 4 Pound podcast, Cejudo railed against the possibility of O’Malley not having to fight again to earn his shot.
“You cannot just sit there and think if you just wait, surpass Umar Nurmagomedov or Cory Sandhagen just, ‘Oh yeah, I’m next. Let me just kick it and watch.’ Bro, that ain’t it,” Cejudo said. “And if the UFC does do that, I’m f*cking done watching the sport. That would be ridiculous.”
O’Malley has been billed as a star since a knockout win on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017 earned him a UFC contract and immediate praise from hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg, who was providing guest commentary for O’Malley’s fight. A 4-0 start to his UFC career kept O’Malley’s popularity rising along with his broad appeal to the Gen Z crowd.
He became bantamweight champion at UFC 292 with a knockout of Aljamain Sterling and successfully defended the title once before losing consecutive championship fights to Dvalishvili, Sterling’s close friend and teammate. Cejudo doesn’t see why one good, but not dominant performance should immediately vault O’Malley back to the front of the contender line.
“It’s almost like Sean’s a little delusional,” Cejudo said. “He still thinks he’s a little bit of Conor, where he wants to wait. ‘It’s alright, Merab’s got the next fight everybody.’ He really thinks he’s f*cking slick as shit, because he is saying the truth. Merab really does deserve it with what he’s been able to do. ‘I’ll just wait and then I’ll get the winner,’ I say bro, it don’t work like that.
“What happens to f*cking Umar Nurmagomedov who had the closest fight with Merab Dvalishvili? What happens if Merab loses to Petr Yan? The beef between the Russia on Russia crime. I like that stuff.”
Cejudo and co-host Kamaru Usman agreed Umar Nurmagomedov is a more deserving challenger than O’Malley, but Cejudo pulled a candidate—a fighter Cejudo recently lost to in his retirement bout—out of left field that he believes has a chance to make name for himself by defeating O’Malley.
“But I will mention this and I like this fight probably more than all of these,” Cejudo said. “You do Payton Talbott vs. Sean O’Malley. I think that’s a really good fight for Payton. I think Payton will put the hands on him, you know why? Because Payton, if he was able to surprise me with takedowns and even inside trip me, Sean’s in trouble.”
UFC 324 Review. The MMA Fighting Crew make their picks for the best, worst, and strangest moments of the UFC’s Paramount+ debut.
Business. Dana White says the abundance of ads during UFC 324 were Paramount’s call.
Success. Paramount touting big numbers for its first-ever UFC broadcast.
Do or die. Sean O’Malley admits retirement was a possibility if he lost to Song Yadong.
Frustrating. Umar Nurmagomedov puts the blame on Deiveson Figueiredo for their forgettable fight.
Jed Meshew pops in to Morning Kombat to recap UFC 324.
UFC 325’s Dan Hooker answers your questions.
Severe MMA. Seán Sheehan and Ian O’Neill give their take on UFC 324 and the first-ever show on Paramount+.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
The best knockouts of the week.
Stay for the celebration.
Well, when you put it that way.
Unlike My Best Friend Mike Heck, I’ll be mostly unbothered if O’Malley ends up sitting his way to another title shot. It’s possible I’ve just been beaten down by how the UFC handles these situations. I’m waving my white flag when it comes to complaining about who gets what in this company. Deserves ain’t got nothing to do with it etc. etc. etc.
Also, Umar, my dude, what was that on Saturday?
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