UFC fans aren’t happy with Dana White’s plan for Sean O’Malley.
The former bantamweight champion hasn’t fought since suffering a lopsided unanimous decision title loss against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 in September.
‘Suga’ is currently healing up from hip surgery. Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili is set to defend his new belt for the first time when he takes on Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in California on Saturday night.
The UFC boss has revealed Sean O’Malley’s place in the 135lb pecking order ahead of his first pay-per-view show of 2025.
Dana White suggests title shot is next for Sean O’Malley
After such a resounding loss, O’Malley appears to have work to do before he’s considered worthy of a title shot, especially in a rematch with Dvalishvili.
However, Dana White sees him as next in line regardless of who wins the UFC 311 co-main event this weekend.
“I think he’s gonna be watching this fight closely and could possibly fight the winner,” the MMA mogul said when asked about O’Malley during an interview with Jim Rome.
White was then asked how quickly O’Malley’s comeback fight will come together.
He added: “We’ll see. I don’t know how Saturday is going to play out yet.
“We’d make that decision the following Tuesday in matchmaking.”
It’s safe to say UFC fans hate the idea of O’Malley getting another title shot.
A clip of White’s update on O’Malley was inundated with comments protesting the decision – even though there’s no obvious number-one contender at bantamweight right now.
One fan said: “That’s a terrible idea since @SugaSeanMMA (who would whip my a**) would get destroyed by both of them.”
Another added: “Manufactured star gets manufactured title shot.”
A third person fumed: “These immediate rematches need to stop unless the flight was close. He got destroyed.”
Someone else joked: “Dana White Privilege.”
Dana White when asked what’s next for Sean O’Malley:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 15, 2025
“I think he’s gonna be watching [Merab vs Umar] closely and could possibly fight the winner.” 👀
🎥 @jimrome #UFC311 #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/4F0Q0CtDD3