Former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley must be truly disappointed by what occurred at UFC 306. After all the trash talk about ending Merab Dvalishvili in the very first round, Suga ended up losing the belt to the Georgian in a one-sided affair. His performance made him so ashamed that he did not even appear for the post-fight press conference.

After the humiliation, the now humbled O’Malley has outlined his retirement plans from the UFC. In a recent interview, Suga revealed his plans to retire from the Octagon in a year. Or possibly, even before that. A piece of shocking news that would truly devastate many of his fans. But what exactly did he say?

O’Malley recently talked about his defeat on his Suga Sean O’Malley YouTube channel. He mentioned that he would be aiming to get another shot at the title. Although, for that, he will have to win probably one more match before he gets back into the title picture. Assuming it’ll take him about seven months to a year to finally get his hands back on the title, Suga then plans to step away from the Octagon.

He said, “I’ll maybe fight till very nine months, ten months, maybe a year. Like, it’s gonna be a while. People are gonna have to watch the UFC without the Suga show for a little bit. Now maybe that they’ll realize, ‘F*ck! Yeah, it was fun.” It looks like the motive behind his retirement is to make his fans realize that despite his recent loss, he does not deserve the amount of hate he is getting. Spending time away from the Octagon would surely make them miss him.

Despite Dana White’s thoughts on O’Malley’s penchant for the business, it doesn’t seem like the American fighter has the same regard and love for the business. O’Malley found himself struggling against The Machine’s pure wrestling style. That set the tone for the night as he succumbed to his constant takedowns before being dethroned as champion. So, after such an abysmal showing, who’s the next fight O’Malley might get to face to prove his worth?

O’Malley gets challenged by former rival

Back in the win column for the first time since 2021, Petr Yan wants to settle his unfinished business with Sean O’Malley. After O’Malley was dethroned as bantamweight champion to Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC Night, Yan did not miss the opportunity to challenge O’Malley to a rematch. Taking to his X account, Yan posted a challenge to Suga as he wrote, “I never considered Sean a real champion, because he was gifted decision against me in Abu Dhabi. Rematch season is open, so see you soon.” 

The last time the duo faced, O’Malley managed to pull off a big upset at UFC 280 back in October 2022. Back then, he won the match by a split decision. A match that set him up for a title fight against Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight belt. What do you think? Will O’Malley accept the fight? Let us know in the comments.