Report – Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley Targeted For UFC 280 On October 22. In Abu Dhabi

A bantamweight matchup between former undisputed and interim division champion, Petr Yan, and the surging striker, Sean O’Malley is being targeted to land at a UFC 280 on October 22. from the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The former undisputed and interim bantamweight champion, Dudinka technician, Petr Yan returns for the first time since his April UFC 273 co-headlining rematch with current division best, Aljamain Sterling – attempting to snap a run of two straight losses.

As for O’Malley, the polarizing Montana native briefly seen his head of steam halted by Brazilian veteran, Pedro Munhoz – after an inadvertent eye poke in the second round left the latter unable to continue, resulting in an official ‘No Contest’ at UFC 276 earlier this year. 

Verbals agreements are in place for Petr Yan to face Sean O’Malley in October

News of O’Malley’s high-profile leap to a matchup with Petr Yan was initially announced on the DC & RC YouTube channel, however, Yan’s manager, Danny Rubenstein confirmed to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that only verbal agreements were in place for the fight. 

Prior to his split decision title unification loss to Sterling back in April, Russian standout, Yan dropped his undisputed bantamweight title to the Uniondale native back in March of last year after he landed an illegal knee in the fourth round of their first matchup.

In between, Yan managed to claim the interim bantamweight championship back in October of last year at UFC 267 on ‘Fight Island’ to boot, defeating Cory Sandhagen in a short-notice matchup.

Yan first landed the undisputed bantamweight crown with an eventual fifth round ground strikes win over former featherweight kingpin, Jose Aldo back in July 2020, lifting the vacant division crown. 

As for O’Malley, the Dana White’s Contender Series alum had enjoyed a run of three straight knockout wins over Thomas Almeida, Kris Moutinho, and Raulian Paiva before his International Fight Week ‘No Contest’ with Munhoz.