Dana White hints at Sean O'Malley facing Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov winner: "He's gonna be watching closely"

Dana White took part in a recent sitdown with American sports radio host Jim Rome, during which he revealed that Sean O'Malley may face the winner of the Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov co-main event matchup at UFC 311 this weekend.

A heated feud that's taken the UFC bantamweight division by storm will be settled this Saturday when Dvalishvili defends his title against a game Nurmagomedov, who puts his undefeated record on the line.

According to White, O'Malley could face the winner of the bout depending on how it transpires:

"Yeah, I think he's gonna be watching this fight closely and could possibly fight the winner. We'll see, we'll see. I mean, I don't know how Saturday is gonna play out yet, so we would make that decision the following Tuesday and matchmake."

Check out the interview below (comments at 2:37:14):

The revelation may come as something of a head-scratcher to some, given that O'Malley is coming off a lopsided unanimous decision loss to Dvalishvili at Noche UFC 306. However, O'Malley himself has called for a title fight in his next outing, and it seems that the promotion's top brass agrees.

This is similar to Israel Adesanya receiving a middleweight title shot against Dricus du Plessis after being dethroned by Sean Strickland. But as the UFC CEO pointed out, his plans could be subject to change depending on how the bout between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov turns out.

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Sean O'Malley is one of the most successful Dana White's Contender Series imports

The first season of Dana White's Contender Series introduced the world to Sean O'Malley, with Snoop Dogg's commentary adding an extra element of interest.

'Sugar' went on to capture UFC bantamweight gold by knocking out Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292.

He subsequently defended the belt against Marlon 'Chito' Vera in a rematch at UFC 299, authoring a dominant beatdown of the Ecuadorian.

Unfortunately for him, he lost the title to Merab Dvalishvili, who completely overwhelmed him over five rounds at Noche UFC 306.