UFC 306 at ‘The Sphere’ turned out to be a record-breaking milestone for the promotion but for Sean O’Malley the night ended in disappointment. The lights of Las Vegas may have been bright, but ‘Suga’s performance at ‘Riyadh Season Noche UFC’ was anything but. The reigning bantamweight champion couldn’t seem to find his rhythm as the Georgian powerhouse, Merab Dvalishvili, overwhelmed him with his relentless pressure.

With the title no longer around his waist, the fans have been left wondering, where does Sean O’Malley go from here? Well, it seems like there’s no shortage of options as multiple bantamweights have now fixed their crosshairs on the former champion. Even without the belt, ‘Suga’ has still got a bullseye on his back and rivals are lining up to get their chance to step inside the Octagon against him!

‘The Sandman’ demands Sean O’Malley to “give the people what they want”

First up in line is Cory Sandhagen. The bantamweight star is known for his fluid and technical striking, with a bunch of highlight reel finishes against Frankie Edgar and Marlon Moraes as evidence of his remarkable skills on the feet.

‘The Sandman’ recently lost a hard-fought battle against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC on ABC 7 in August and is currently ranked no.4 in the division. His next target? In a post made on Instagram, Sandhagen stated, “Watching Merab win the title, realizing you get Sandman vs Suga because of it. Congrats Merab. You earned it, man. O’Malley, time to give the people what they want. I don’t promise to not kiss you.”

His lighthearted jab referenced a bizarre moment from the UFC 306 main event when Dvalishvili kissed O’Malley’s neck mid-fight prompting referee Herb Dean to warn him for his actions! Keeping that aside, Cory Sandhagen vs. O’Malley has all the ingredients to be a masterclass of striking on display for the fans, and with the former champion having recently lost his title to a wrestler, it does make it an alluring matchup.

But what about ‘Triple C’? The former double champ clearly has his sights set on reminding O’Malley that wrestling wins championships with several cheeky posts made on social media!

Henry Cejudo offers a “wrestling” lesson to O’Malley with the “true king of Arizona” crown on the line 

Amidst the call-outs being made to Sean O’Malley, Henry Cejudo has also thrown his name into the ring! ‘Triple C’ is currently on a 2-fight skid, having lost his past two outings. Most recently, he lost a unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 in February and prior to that, he had come up short in his quest to regain the bantamweight title against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 in 2023.

Cejudo is currently ranked no.6 in the bantamweight rankings. In a post on X after UFC 306, he’d shared, “Hey O’Methyl… You wanted to be the next Conor McGregor- well now you are. Neither of you bums can defend a takedown” and sarcastically offered a “wrestling” lesson! However, he wasn’t done as he further shared in another post, “Merab found the formula to Sean! Let me at him next”

But the question here is, will Sean O’Malley accept a fight against another wrestling-based stylist after losing his belt? That remains to be seen. However, in a recent episode of the ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast with Kamaru Usman, Cejudo stated, “I think moving forward is if Sean O’Malley is willing and wants to fight this troll, who’s the true king of Arizona, well then here I am.”

A battle for the title of “king of Arizona”, as Cejudo put it, does sound interesting but according to Petr Yan, O’Malley still owes him a dance inside the Octagon!

Petr Yan determined to seek redemption against ‘Suga’

At UFC 280 in 2022, Petr Yan and Sean O’Malley went to war for three rounds. While both men had their moments when the scores were read out, ‘Suga’ walked out the winner via split decision. The controversy? 25 out of 26 media members had Yan winning the bout and many fans also sided with their take, raising eyebrows at the judging of the fight. In fact, in 2022 the bout even won Sherdog’s ‘Robbery of the Year’ award!

After O’Malley lost his crown at UFC 306, Yan took to X to share, “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.”

Out of all the names on this list, Petr Yan is the only one who has a previous score to settle with ‘Suga’. The controversial decision for their last encounter is still fresh in his mind, and Yan is currently trying to get back to the title he once held. He recently snapped a 3-fight losing streak by beating Song Yadong at UFC 299 via a unanimous decision and is ranked no. 3 in the bantamweight division. As such, it’d be interesting to see whether he manages a decisive victory if the two were to face off again.

To wrap things up, Cory Sandhagen offers an exciting striker’s duel, Henry Cejudo brings wrestling lessons laced with sarcasm, and Petr Yan still has unfinished business after their controversial split decision. The question is, who will get an opportunity to take on Sean O’Malley next? Who would be your pick? Share it with us in the comments below!