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via Getty
INGLEWOOD, CA – DECEMBER 29: Petr Yan of Russia stands in his corner prior to his bantamweight bout against Douglas Silva de Andrade of Brazil during the UFC 232 event inside The Forum on December 29, 2018 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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via Getty
INGLEWOOD, CA – DECEMBER 29: Petr Yan of Russia stands in his corner prior to his bantamweight bout against Douglas Silva de Andrade of Brazil during the UFC 232 event inside The Forum on December 29, 2018 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan took to social media and exchanged verbal barbs with Sean O’Malley. ‘Sugar’ Sean decided to troll the Russian fighter, and Petr Yan wasn’t having it. He immediately fired back and reminded O’Malley of his place in the rankings. Both men have been going back and forth for a while now and their rivalry continues to grow.
Sean O’Malley has made it somewhat commonplace to troll fellow bantamweight fighters even if they’re ranked above him. In fact, O’Malley usually ignores the fact that he’s not in the top 15 and won’t likely be facing the men he’s trolling any time soon. However, that’s not enough to deter him from firing shots.
Enter top 3 before even mentioning my name poodle. I got unfinished business with fakemaster now
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) June 18, 2021
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You go up to my belly button. https://t.co/wjDZDrqMUa
— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) June 18, 2021
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What’s next for Petr Yan and Sean O’Malley?
As it stands, O’Malley and Yan won’t be booked to fight each other anytime soon. O’Malley lost his chance to break into the rankings when he was defeated by Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. Sean O’Malley has since bounced back from the loss and violently finished Thomas Almeida in his most recent outing.
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via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 15: (L-R) Marlon Vera of Ecuador punches Sean O’Malley in their bantamweight bout during the UFC 252 event at UFC APEX on August 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
He’ll be taking on Louis Smolka at UFC 264 in what is yet another high-profile showcase bout. A win against Smolka will put ‘Sugar’ Sean right where he needs to be in terms of a position in the rankings. Not to mention his popularity will continue to see an upward movement with star-studded wins.
As for Petr Yan, he already has his next assignment draw up which is a rematch against Aljamain Sterling. Petr Yan was seemingly pulling away with the victory when he landed the flagrant knee that cost him his title. ‘The Funkmaster’ went down as the first champion to ever be handed a gold belt off a DQ win.
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via Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 06: (L-R) Petr Yan of Russia punches Aljamain Sterling in their UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 259 event at UFC APEX on March 06, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
The rivalry with both men is intense, and there’s plenty of the line going forward. The division is in need of some clarity as there are several contenders waiting in the wings to see how things line up. Regardless of the outcome though, fans can expect fireworks from both men when the cage door closes.
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