Top UFC bantamweight disagrees with Petr Yan's call for a rematch against Sean O'Malley

Following the established pattern in UFC history, Merab Dvalishvili's victory over Sean O'Malley at Noche UFC 306 has opened up the possibility of fresh matchups in the divisions. While several top-ranked bantamweight stars are deliberating on their preferred matchups, Petr Yan's callout for a rematch against O'Malley has been dismissed by a top-ranked fighter in the division.

No. 4 ranked contender Cory Sandhagen took to Instagram following the conclusion of UFC 306 and proposed the idea of a potential fight against O'Malley:

"Watching Merab win the title... realizing you get Sandman vs. Suga because of it. Congrats, Merab. You earned it, man. O’Malley, time to give the people what they want. I don’t promise to not kiss you."

Check out the Instagram post below:

Elsewhere, Petr Yan communicated his desire to revisit the rivalry with O'Malley that resulted in a split-decision loss at UFC 280. According to Yan and several fighters in the division, the win unfairly advanced his case for a guaranteed title shot. Yan took to X to claim that he never considered O'Malley "a real champion" and asserted that he was "gifted" the split-decision win at UFC 280.

Check out the posts below:

Sandhagen reacted to the Instagram post by MMA Junkie highlighting Yan's comments and doubled down on his claim to fight O'Malley next. He wrote:

"Nah, it’s 'Sandman' vs. 'Suga' next."

Check out the comment below:

Cory Sandhagen reacts to Petr Yan's callout for a rematch with Sean O'Malley [Images courtesy: @mmajunkie on Instagram]

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Sean O'Malley reveals the timeline of his potential return

Sean O'Malley dropped the bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision at Noche UFC 306. 'Suga' couldn't find an answer for his rival's wrestling-heavy game plan and succumbed to the second loss of his professional career.

Following his recent loss, the 29-year-old posted a video showcasing his wrestling takedown defense drills, asserting that he is already focused on improving his skills. However, in reality, O'Malley will be getting surgery done that will push him out of action for a prolonged period.

Speaking in a recent episode of his podcast, O'Malley said:

"I have surgery on Oct. 3... I tore my labrum 10 weeks ago... I tore my left labrum in my hip. That's the only reason I'm gonna be out for so long. This surgery should only take like two months to come back from, then a couple months recovery. A year is a long time, could be six to eight months... You never know."

Catch O'Malley's comments below (52:00):