Russia’s Petr Yan will earn another shot at the bantamweight title should he overcome the threat from dangerous American Sean O’Malley at UFC 280 this weekend, according to promotion chief Dana White.
Yan takes on O’Malley in a 135lbs contender fight in Abu Dhabi which precedes the title showdown between champion Aljamain Sterling and former two-time bantamweight ruler TJ Dillashaw.
Asked if victory for Yan or O’Malley would automatically set up a title bout for either fighter, White indicated that would be the case.
“Yeah, this is one of those fights where Petr Yan is the number one-ranked guy in the world,” White told Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports.
“O’Malley is 27 years old, he’s 15-1. He’s got the experience for this fight, he’s got the height and reach advantage, he’s got knockout power.
“[O’Malley’s] got all the tools to win this fight, he’s just got to go out there and do it.
“It’s no easy task, Petr Yan is an absolute savage, but there was this comparison recently where Sean O’Malley said he would love to be the next Conor McGregor and the next global superstar, well, it’s about winning key fights.
“He’s already got that thing that people like about it, but it’s about winning key fights. This fight for him is like Conor’s Jose Aldo fight.”
Former bantamweight champion Yan, 29, is aiming to propel himself back into championship contention after losing his title in contentious circumstances to Sterling in Las Vegas in March of 2021.
The Russian, who had defeated Brazilian legend Jose Aldo to capture the title, was disqualified for an illegal fourth-round knee strike on American rival Sterling when seeming well set for victory.
Yan rebuilt with an impressive win over Cory Sandhagen later in 2021, but suffered a points defeat to Sterling in their rematch at UFC 273 in April – a result that some including UFC president White took issue with.
Yan boasts an overall record of 16-3 in his career, including eight victories in ten visits to the UFC Octagon.
The Siberian will be by far the sternest test to date for O’Malley, although the colorful American has laid out his capabilities in a series of the Performance of the Night displays, and his sole career defeat remains a 2020 TKO loss to Marlon Vera.
The UFC 280 card on Saturday will be headlined by the lightweight title clash between Russia’s Islam Makhachev and Brazilian former champion Charles Oliveira, while the co-main event sees Sterling defend his bantamweight crown against Dillashaw.