It’s no secret that the UFC awards some privileges to their money-making superstars.
Israel Adesanya was granted an immediate rematch for the middleweight belt after suffering the worst loss of his career to a short-notice Sean Strickland.
Conor McGregor was allowed to move up a weight class after just one title defense.
Now, it seems Sean O’Malley is getting similar treatment in the bantamweight division.
The UFC has been seeking a superstar of McGregor’s caliber since his peak in 2018. O’Malley seemed like a good candidate — flashy knockouts, a big mouth and absurd antics outside the octagon that grabs the attention of anyone they reached.
O’Malley drew mixed reactions from fans since his career launched. Sure, he put on exciting fights, but he was also fast-tracked up the rankings.
After a no-contest with ninth-ranked Pedro Munhoz, O’Malley was matched with number-one-ranked Petr Yan in a fight for the next title shot.
Fans later disliked that his first title defense came against Marlon Vera. Vera beat O’Malley early in their careers, but O’Malley disputes the loss, having suffered an injury that helped Vera easily win via TKO.
The story was there, but Vera was far from deserving of the shot, and O’Malley, as expected, destroyed him.
O’Malley’s track to superstardom was disrupted when he faced Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306, where he suffered a close but definitive loss, mainly due to his lack of wrestling ability.
Now, it seems that the UFC, in a desperate attempt to retain O’Malley’s star status, is giving him a rematch with Dvalishvili despite being inactive since their first meeting in September 2024.
Immediate rematches are usually reserved for champions with a significant number of title defenses to their name, not just one like O’Malley.
Adesanya got a rematch with six title defenses after a loss to Alex Pereira. Alexander Volkanovski will have his shot at the vacant belt at UFC 314 with Diego Lopes after five defenses at featherweight.
The UFC is making a clear statement with this rumored fight. If a fighter brings sales, they’ll get beneficial matchmaking regardless of how worthy of the opportunity they are.
Yan, who arguably beat O’Malley in their 2022 fight, beat Deiveson Figueiredo and Song Yadong last year, lining him up for a shot at bantamweight gold after Umar Nurmagomedov’s chance at UFC 311.
After Yan, there seemed to be a lack of deserving contenders — the perfect time for flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja to move up to 135 and get his chance at double champ status.
With two clear-cut options, Yan and Pantoja, for Dvalishvili’s next opponent, Dana White thinks O’Malley is the right matchup.
“They want to fight each other and people want to see it,” he said after UFC Seattle.
In reality, though, people want to see fighters earn their way back to the belt. Fans want the most deserving contender to get the title shot, not the one who brings the company the most money.
An O’Malley rematch spells doom for fighters in any weight class that might be more deserving of a fight, but are passed on in favor of loud-mouthed, flashy fighters instead.
The fight hasn’t been confirmed yet, so hope remains that the UFC makes the right decision at 135 lbs.
As this saga continues to play out, we also have UFC 313 to look forward to at the beginning of March.
Pereira’s biggest test
Magomed Ankalaev might not be a wrestler through and through, but his ability is far better than any of Alex Pereira’s past opponents. We’ll see if the Russian keeps his promise of keeping the fight on foot. I’m looking for this fight to be an indicator of how Pereira might fare in a heavyweight division stacked with control grapplers.
A step up for Mauricio Ruffy
Ruffy’s stock declined a bit after his last fight against a short-notice opponent, and now he faces King Green, a solid, proven boxer just outside the rankings at 155 pounds. This would be a big win for Ruffy and possibly a good send-off for the 38-year-old Green. His age could be impactful too — we’ll see how his chin holds up against the powerful Ruffy.
Fight of the night: Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Jalin Turner
These two are lanky 155 pound fighters with absurd knockout power who seem allergic to boring fights. Bahamondes looks to build on his knockout win over Manuel Torres and Turner looks to bounce back after a loss to Renato Moicano. This is a surefire barnburner.
Be on the lookout
Mairon Santos makes his first official UFC appearance this week after winning on a brutal knockout in last year’s The Ultimate Fighter finale. If he carries on as expected, watch for another knockout from him Saturday.
