Umar Nurmagomedov believes former UFC bantamweight kingpin Sean O’Malley has no interest in locking horns with him, and the promotion also won’t second this matchup.
Umar recently secured a unanimous decision victory over Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 324, rebuilding his winning streak to two fights. His only professional MMA loss came last year at UFC 311, against then-champion Merab Dvalishvili.
O’Malley, on the other hand, returned to winning ways at UFC 324, snapping his two-fight losing skid.
Both Umar and O’Malley want to fight for the title next. However, next Dvalishvili will face current and two-time UFC bantamweight kingpin Petr Yan in a title rematch to complete their trilogy, which is currently tied.
The Georgian was the most active champion in 2025, successfully defending his belt three times. In his fourth title defense at UFC 323, he met Yan in a rematch and lost by unanimous decision after fighting hard for 25 minutes.
Umar acknowledges that he has to win another fight before he can potentially fight for the title again, and Sean O’Malley thinks ‘The Machine’ deserves a title rematch. Hence, ‘Suga’ does not mind waiting.
In the meantime, while Umar wants to stay busy and wants to lock horns with O’Malley, ‘Suga’ has so far shown no interest in fighting the Russian. Instead, he wants to fight Cory Sandhagen, only if the UFC pays him the same amount as a title fight.
Umar Nurmagomedov doubts ‘Suga’ will agree to fight him
Umar Nurmagomedov brings a grappling-heavy style, while Sean O’Malley has one-shot knockout power. As fans, we have already seen how O’Malley tends to struggle against elite wrestlers and grapplers, which is why this is most likely a matchup he wants to avoid. Considering that he has ‘Dana White privilege,’ it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s given a pass on this fight.
Even Umar Nurmagomedov thinks O’Malley will never lock horns with him. In a recent interview with Gorilla Fighting, he quipped:
I’m ready to fight anywhere with anyone, anytime. If there is a rematch between Merab and Petr, I would like to fight against Sean O’Malley. I find it hard to believe that Sean will agree to this fight and that the UFC will make it happen. If Petr wins the rematch, his next fight will be against Sean, but if Merab wins the rematch, I’ll be next. Sean fought him twice.”
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Umar Nurmagomedov’s manager, on the other hand, recently told Sport24 that there have been ongoing discussions regarding a potential O’Malley vs. Umar bout:
That’s what all sides are expressing interest in. We want the fight with Sean O’Malley. As I understand, O’Malley is not against it either and isn’t avoiding it. Logically, it makes sense. But there’s no confirmation yet, no dates or signed contracts. Still, it’s likely moving in that direction.”
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