Sean O’Malley wanted an intriguing matchup shortly after falling short against Merab Dvalishvili a second time.
O’Malley attempted to dethrone the man who defeated him and took the UFC Bantamweight Championship. Ultimately, Dvalishvili secured a second-round submission finish over the “Suga” show at UFC 316.
While the loss shoved O’Malley further away from the 135-pound title picture, he was willing to jump right back into the fire. Appearing on the “Overdogs Podcast,” O’Malley said he put his name in the hat to take on Cory Sandhagen following some uncertainty with the UFC 318 card (h/t MMAMania.com).
“I was actually trying to fight Cory [Sandhagen] when the co-main event fell out for that Max [Holloway] and Dustin [Poirier] fight,” revealed O’Malley during a recent appearance on the Overdogs Podcast.
“I threw my name out there to UFC. I was like… three weeks, me vs. Cory would be sweet, but it didn’t really make sense for the UFC.
“Cory vs. Merab was the next fight to make. But yeah, me vs. Cory is a very interesting fight. That’s one that’s bound to happen, sooner than later.”
Sandhagen will be challenging Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title at UFC 320 on Oct. 4. Dvalishvili had been calling for the matchup even before his rematch with O’Malley took place. This will be UFC 320’s co-headliner, as the main event will feature a UFC light heavyweight title rematch between champion Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira.
As far as O’Malley goes, many are wondering what will be next for him. The “Suga” show will need to work his way back up if he expects another chance to become a two-time UFC titleholder. O’Malley has said that he plans to keep fighting for as long as his body allows him to compete at a high level.
Stick with BJPenn.com for the latest updates on Sean O’Malley.
