Sean O'Malley has booked his biggest opponent to date.
The rising UFC bantamweight contender is set to take on former champion Peter Yan on Oct. 22 at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. The news was revealed by O’Malley during an interview with ESPN.
O’Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is coming off a no contest ruling against veteran Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276 earlier this month. The bout was deemed a no contest following an eye poke from O’Malley that put Munhoz out of competition. Prior to the fight with Munhoz, O’Malley had three straight stoppage wins, which marked his comeback from his TKO loss to Marlon Vera in 2020.
On the other hand, Yan (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) looks to bounce back from a split decision loss to champion Aljamain Sterling in his attempt to recapture the title at UFC 273 in April. Yan’s only two losses in the UFC have come against Aljamain. The 29-year-old won the UFC bantamweight title in 2020 when he stopped Brazil’s Jose Aldo at UFC 251.
With the addition the UFC 280 lineup includes:
- Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev – for vacant lightweight title
- Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw – for bantamweight title
- Sean Brady vs. Belal Muhammad
- Sean O’Malley vs. Petr Yan
