UFC bantamweight star Sean O’Malley has secured his Octagon future with a brand-new, eight-fight contract with the promotion.
Sean O’Malley is the No. 1 bantamweight contender after earning a split decision victory against Petr Yan at UFC 280. He’s won four of his last five fights, with the lone exception being a no-contest against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276.
Sean O’Malley offered to face former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo next amidst Aljamain Sterling‘s bicep injury and recovery. However, it appears Sterling is on track to return against Cejudo in May, although nothing has been booked or announced by the promotion.
Sean O’Malley will likely get a title shot for his next fight, whether that be for an interim title or the real thing. After his win over Yan, he has plenty of potential big names in line for his next few fights with the UFC.
Sean O’Malley Opens Up On New UFC Contract
During a recent episode of the BROMALLEY podcast, O’Malley explained how negotiations played out with the UFC.
“Even if I do fight Aljo next I don’t get pay-per-view points. That was something I talked about in the negotiations. I tried to get it, you know, pay-per-view points not being the champ, didn’t fly, but I will say I did re-sign with the UFC,” O’Malley said. “A very gracious contract that I’m proud of. I offered that, I asked for this, they said no, they said yes. I said well, they said huh, and I got a number that I’m very happy with. And I truly don’t think any manager that I had could have went in there and got me what I got.”
O’Malley made his UFC debut in Dec. 2017, after earning a contract with the promotion via Dana White‘s Contender Series. His first and only professional loss to date came against Marlon Vera at UFC 252.
O’Malley earned three knockout finishes in 2021 after the loss to Vera. All three wins resulted in post-fight performance bonuses from Dana White and the UFC.
Despite not getting pay-per-view points on his new deal, O’Malley is one of the biggest stars in the UFC. If he earns the bantamweight belt, he could be well on his way to earning additional benefits to his contract.
