Sean O'Malley confirms he'll be fighting for UFC bantamweight title next

Sean O'Malley has clarified that his next fight will be for the UFC bantamweight title.

After upsetting Petr Yan at UFC 280, O'Malley hopped 10 spots in the rankings to become the top-ranked 135-pound contender. However, UFC president Dana White seemed uncommitted to the idea of O'Malley as the next title challenger during his interview at the event's post-fight presser.

Check out Sean O'Malley's post below:

But things are apparently looking up for the rising star. O'Malley recently told ESPN that he now has the blessing of the UFC brass to contend for the title in his next fight. According to the 27-year-old, he met up with White and matchmaker Sean Shelby in Las Vegas to discuss his future:

"I know my next fight is for the title."

However, 'Sugar' admitted that he still doesn't know who he will fight for the belt. He added that he's targeting a return in July 2023.

Aljamain Sterling, of course, is presumably O'Malley's next opponent if he is to fight for divisional gold. However, the undisputed bantamweight champion claimed that he's taking a significant amount of time off to recover, which could lead to an interim title bout between O'Malley and somebody else.

Another scenario, according to O'Malley, is that Sterling could fight one more time before he gets his title shot. Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo is rumored to be Sterling's next title challenger.

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UFC bantamweight champion believes Sean O'Malley deserves title shot over Henry Cejudo

Aljamain Sterling is also uncertain who is next to challenge for his UFC bantamweight title. As far as he's concerned, however, Sean O'Malley deserves the next title shot the most.

Speaking about his upcoming title defense, Sterling said on The MMA Hour:

"O’Malley did earn it – I can’t deny that. Even Dana [White] said you beat the No. 1 contender so it made sense and then somehow, some way he backtracked."

Pivoting to the possibility of facing Henry Cejudo, 'Funk Master' continued:

"I’m just not excited about that matchup [with Henry Cejudo]. Because he hasn’t competed. For me, if the fans cared — like really cared — the overall consensus was this is the matchup to make, Cejudo you are the guy, I’m calling you out, that’s the money fight because people want to see that fight. I just don’t feel like that’s it."

Watch Aljamain Sterling's interview below: