“He's somewhat of a star” - Sean O’Malley expresses favoritism for Ilia Topuria fight despite Merab Dvalishvili’s win streak at 135 pounds

Sean O'Malley insists his desire to fight Ilia Topuria next has everything to do with building his star power.

After polishing off a dominant victory over Marlon Vera at UFC 299, O'Malley called for a fight with Topuria in his post-fight octagon interview despite the no. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili sitting cage-side. O'Malley mentioned Dvalishvili as a potential opponent but made his intentions clear, much to the chagrin of many fans.

Explaining his decision on The MMA Hour just two days after his first UFC title defense, 'Suga' mentioned that he is only in pursuit of what he claims to be a "massive fight."

O'Malley said:

"There's certain people that you kind of just want to fight. Ilia's that guy, he's also done a really good job. He's somewhat of a star — I'd say he's a star. He's not a superstar but he's close. It takes two big names to make a massive fight. I've been very vocal since I've been in the UFC [that] my goal is to get the massive fights."

Check out Sean O'Malley's comments below:

O'Malley, 29, improved his record to 18-1 with one no-contest on March 9 while avenging the lone loss in his career. The win earned the champion his second consecutive Performance of the Night bonus and third straight post-fight bonus while extending his win streak to three.

As impressive as the lanky bantamweight has been in the UFC, the general public showed little interest in the American moving up a division to challenge Topuria, largely due to both champions' lack of title defenses.

Those disproving the callout included UFC CEO Dana White, who called the idea 'crazy talk.'

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Dana White dismisses idea of Sean O'Malley facing Ilia Topuria after defeating Marlon Vera

Dana White has not had many negative opinions to voice regarding Sean O'Malley in his career but was not fond of the champion's plead to fight Ilia Topuria in Spain.

When asked about the bantamweight's callout of Topuria in the octagon after a dominant win over Marlon Vera, White told reporters that he was not ready to assess future moves but does not like the idea of a champion changing divisions before accumulating title defenses.

White said:

"[Sean O'Malley] is the biggest star in bantamweight history... I don't know about moving divisions. You know how I feel about that. Even Topuria was talking about not fighting anyone in the division after just winning the title. That's crazy talk."

Check out Dana Whilte's comments on Sean O'Malley below:

White is seemingly in favor of selecting Merab Dvalishvili as the next opponent of O'Malley for the bantamweight title defense, declaring 'The Machine' will be in a championship fight in his next outing immediately after his win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298.