Sean O'Malley stopped Aiemann Zahabi in the second round at UFC White House, putting himself firmly in the bantamweight title picture. O'Malley, who already holds a split-decision win over champion Petr Yan from UFC 280, says he is content to wait if Yan first completes a trilogy with Merab Dvalishvili. The former champion believes a Yan rematch would surpass even his title-defense victory over Marlon Vera as the biggest bantamweight fight in history by gate and numbers.
Sean O'Malley kept his name squarely in the bantamweight title conversation on July 20, 2026, stopping Aiemann Zahabi in the second round at UFC White House and immediately setting his sights on a rematch with champion Petr Yan.
O'Malley, 31, carries a 20-3-0 record and sits fourth in the bantamweight rankings. The Montana native is one of the most prolific and accurate strikers in the division, averaging 6.05 significant strikes per minute at a 60 percent striking accuracy — both figures that stand well above the divisional norm. At six feet tall with a 72-inch reach, the switch-stance southpaw already holds a split-decision victory over Yan from UFC 280, giving him legitimate leverage in any title-rematch discussion.
Zahabi, the 38-year-old Canadian product of Tristar Gym, entered the fight ranked 14th at bantamweight and brought respectable output of his own at 4.54 significant strikes per minute. The second-round stoppage extends O'Malley's case for a top-tier booking.
O'Malley acknowledged that Yan may first need to complete a trilogy with Merab Dvalishvili before a rematch materializes, and stated he is comfortable waiting. He also framed the potential rematch in ambitious terms, suggesting it would eclipse even his title-defense victory over Marlon Vera — the seventh-ranked bantamweight and a proven pay-per-view draw — as the biggest fight in the division's history by gate and overall numbers.
Why it matters
- O'Malley's existing split-decision win over Yan gives a rematch a clear sporting hook and built-in narrative tension.
- A win in the Yan trilogy fight would set up a high-profile unification or title-defense scenario with O'Malley waiting in the wings.
- Vera's continued presence in the top ten means the bantamweight division has multiple credible main-event options should the Yan rematch be delayed.
