Sean O’Malley calls out Petr Yan: “Wanna beat me up while you wait for your rematch?”

UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley called out Petr Yan, asking him if you “wanna beat me up while you wait for your rematch?”

Yan was widely expected to fight UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in a rematch next, but the fight isn’t happening anytime soon after the new champ opted to get neck surgery. That means Sterling will be on the shelf until later this summer or fall, optimistically, which means that Yan may opt to take another fight in the meantime. Though it’s unlikely the UFC would strip Sterling of his title, it’s possible the promotion could opt to introduce an interim title. Either way, it does seem likely that Yan will fight someone else in the meantime. And if that’s the case, O’Malley wants it to be him.

Recently, we heard O’Malley calling out former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, but it appears as though O’Malley is now shooting even higher up the bantamweight food chain and is targeting the ex-champ. Taking to his social media on Tuesday, O’Malley called out Yan for a fight in July, joking with the Russian that he will get beat up by Yan.

Hey @PetrYanUFC what are you doing in July brotha? Wana beat me up while you wait for your rematch?

— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) April 14, 2021

Hey @PetrYanUFC what are you doing in July brotha? Wana beat me up while you wait for your rematch?

O’Malley is coming off of a huge KO win over Thomas Almeida that was especially brutal, but he’s still not a top-15 ranked fighter. However, he is a massive draw and the UFC will likely give him a ranked veteran in his next fight. While Yan may be shooting too high up the ladder, it’s worth at least taking your shot if you are O’Malley. While he may not be a ranked fighter, he is a big name, so it’s possible Yan could be interested, but we’ll see.

Do you want to see Sean O’Malley fight Petr Yan while Aljamain Sterling is out?