UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has revealed his intentions for his next two fights, with one of the bouts including a return to the boxing ring. O’Malley, or ‘Suga’ is one of the most exciting rising stars in the UFC, gaining immense popularity for this charisma and dynamic fighting style. He has defended his belt once since becoming champion last summer against Aljamain Sterling. His only defeat so far came against ‘Chito’ Vera, which he avenged at UFC 299, with that fight drawing in a top-five gate for the promotion.
It does help that the bantamweight division happens to be one of the most competitive in the sport, with seemingly new challengers appearing on an almost daily basis (not literally every day, but you get the drift). O’Malley has a lot of big fights to look forward to if he can maintain his upward momentum, and of course with those big fights will come big paydays.
Could O’Malley vs Topuria be on the cards?
One of the most attractive options for O’Malley could be a super-fight with the recently crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. Topuria defeated long-time champion Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year to confirm his reputation as an unorthodox combination puncher that is difficult to work out. It could be possible with the money and potential for stardom on offer that Suga could move up in weight to become a two-weight champion.
However, Topuria feels his rival needs to defend his belt a few more times before considering a moving to a new weight class. If he can do that successfully, Topuria believes a clash between the two would become one of the most anticipated fights in the history of the UFC.
Ryan Garcia calls out O’Malley
Another potentially exciting option for O’Malley is a crossover fight in the boxing ring. He could face the trash-talking super-lightweight star Ryan Garcia. There will likely need to be more fights pass and more time to drum up interest in this required, in a similar fashion to Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather. However, if the money is right, it could happen sooner than we think.
O’Malley confirmed this, saying you can do a boxing fight “100 per cent, if it makes us enough money”. Pouring fuel on the flames, Garcia has shared a poster showing both together in the ring and added that he would ‘destroy’ Suga. Garcia even suggested they could go at it in the cage, although that was likely just for social media purposes and not a real prospect.
O’Malley states it is Merab Dvalishvili and Ryan Garcia in next two fights
In a recent tweet, it would appear that O’Malley has confirmed his next two bouts will be in different disciplines. He said he will face Dvalishvili next, who happens to be a close friend of Aljamain Sterling, whom he defeated at UFC 292 to win the title.
The tweet said “After I KO Merab I’m boxing Ryan” with an accompanying handshake emoji suggesting that this is more than just talk. It will be interesting to see if these fights do come to pass.
