O’Malley: Topuria Fight ‘Happening Next’

Sean O’Malley is already planning his next fight.

That means “Suga” is feeling pretty confident ahead of his UFC 299 pay-per-view (PPV) main event against longtime bantamweight rival Marlon Vera, despite losing to “Chito” at UFC 252 a couple of years back. Their championship rematch was recently made official for Sat., March 9, 2024 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

“If he goes out there and beats ‘Volk’, and I go out there and beat ‘Chito,’ that fight’s happening next,” O’Malley said on his TimboSugar Show podcast (transcribed by Drake Riggs). “That’s just what’s happening. Something I’ve never understood … I’m clearly, whether you guys f****** agree or not, UFC thinks so, I’m a potentially massive star already. If Ilia thinks I’m an easy fight — who’s a bigger fight than me?”

Perhaps this $100,000 bet could answer that question.

“Conor would be a bigger fight,” O’Malley continued. “Conor’s not gonna fight Ilia. Conor literally, probably doesn’t [know who he is] — maybe he does. Ilia’s f****** sick. I like watching him fight. He’s very dangerous, very skilled. But if I’m an easy fight for these guys, I don’t know why — it was back in the day when I was calling out Dominick Cruz, calling out Cody Garbrandt, they were like, ‘He sucks, I’m not gonna fight him.’ Why not fight the guy who’s an easy fight with the big mouth and big name? Why not? I don’t get it.”

In order for that fight to be considered, Topuria would first have to defeat reigning featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski in the upcoming UFC 298 headliner on Sat., Feb. 17, 2024 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Matchmakers would also need to overlook contenders in both divisions in favor of another “super fight” — a gimmick that is starting to grow weary on the combat sports community.

To see who else is fighting at UFC 298 and UFC 299 click here and here.