Sean O'Malley isn't happy with Daniel Cormier bringing up Song Yadong as Petr Yan's next opponent! Following Yan's title defense against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333, DC mentioned Song Yadong as a possible next challenger, leaving O'Malley confused. 🗣️ “DC, I don’t know what he’s thinking. I beat Song like 6 months ago. I should be next for the title, I don’t care.” Via: (@sugasean)
Sean O'Malley has pushed back on Daniel Cormier's suggestion that Song Yadong should be next in line for Petr Yan, arguing that he, not Song, deserves the next shot at the bantamweight title.
Yan retained his belt at UFC 333 on October 24 with a unanimous decision over Merab Dvalishvili, a five-round title fight. Cormier then floated Song as a possible next challenger. O'Malley, who posted his reaction on social media, said he doesn't know what Cormier is thinking, noting that he beat Song about six months ago and saying he should be next for the title.
O'Malley's timeline is slightly off. His unanimous decision over Song came at UFC 324 on January 24, 2026, closer to nine months ago.
The case for O'Malley
O'Malley is 20-3 and ranked second at bantamweight. The 32-year-old followed the Song win with a second-round KO/TKO of Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, so he arrives on a two-fight winning streak. His last loss was a third-round submission to Dvalishvili in a title fight at UFC 316 in June 2025. He lands 6.05 significant strikes per minute at 60 percent accuracy.
Yan, 33, is 21-5 and has now beaten Dvalishvili twice in five-round title fights, the first at UFC 323 in December 2025. The Russian lands 5.16 significant strikes per minute at 54 percent accuracy and averages 1.7 takedowns per 15 minutes, compared with O'Malley's 0.24.
Why it matters
- O'Malley already holds a win over Yan, a split decision at UFC 280 in October 2022, so a rematch would carry history.
- Song lost to O'Malley in January, but he also lost to Yan by unanimous decision at UFC 299 in March 2024. Both of his recorded meetings with the principals in this debate went against him.
- The reach gap favors O'Malley: his 72-inch reach is five inches longer than Yan's 67 inches, and he stands four inches taller at five-foot-eleven to Yan's five-foot-seven.
Cormier, the former two-division champion, was offering a view on who should challenge next, and no matchup has been made official.
