Sean O’Malley can’t catch a break. First, there was that beatdown by Merab Dvalishvili at the organization’s biggest event of last year, UFC 306. Then he had to wait on the bleachers as he saw the Georgian champion be celebrated for beating an undefeated Nurmagomedov at UFC 311. The road seems clear for him to rematch the champion, so what’s the problem? Well, there’s a new contender on the horizon, and his last name is Topuria.

You heard that right. As if one Topuria in the UFC wasn’t problematic enough, there’s another one – Aleksandre Topuria, brother of Georgian featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. And Aleksandre Topuria fights at a weight class below ‘El Matador’, i.e., the 135-lb weight class. What’s more? He’s also a complete fighter like his younger brother. At UFC 312, he put on an absolute clinic on Colby Thicknesse, handily beating him by unanimous decision over three rounds.

Thing is, he shares the weight class with his fellow Georgian Merab Dvalishvili. If he’s anything like his brother, you can be sure that ‘El Conquistador’ has his eyes on the title. So, won’t that be a problem for Merab Dvalishvili, fighting his countryman, especially after there’s a fair amount of camaraderie between him and the 145-lb champ? Well, it won’t come to that, it seems. Why? Because ‘The Machine’ won’t fight his countryman, much like how he wouldn’t fight his teammate Aljamain Sterling.

The 34-year-old said that he’d prefer to relinquish his title than fight Aleksandre Topuria if it ever comes to a situation where ‘El Conquistador’ becomes the title contender. “If Aleksandre [Topuria] becomes the contender, I will give up the belt,” Merab Dvalishvili stated during a presser in Georgia. “Either I will move to a higher weight class, or I will move to a lower one. We will sort it out as friends.”

Well, Aleksandre Topuria just made his UFC debut this month. It’s unlikely that he’ll fight for the title this year. He’s not even in the top 15 of the bantamweight rankings, so Sean O’Malley can take a breather. Unless, by some miracle, Topuria is matched up with ‘Suga’ somewhere down the line.

While we may never see a fight between Aleksandre Topuria and Merab Dvalishvili, a fight against O’Malley won’t be off the books. Furthermore, if Dvalishvili exits the division and Topuria is the #1-contender by then, O’Malley will have to face him to get to the title anyway.

For now, the road is open for O’Malley to stake his claim to the title, as the #1-ranked guy in the division. But will he get the title shot – is the real question. Uncle Dana knows. Let’s find out.

Dana White hinted at a potential title fight return for Sean O’Malley

This year started out with a bantamweight showdown between two of the best in the division – champion Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov. What’s more? ‘The Machine’ stayed true to his moniker, outworking ‘Young Eagle’ over five rounds to cruise to a unanimous decision victory. Before UFC 311 took place, Dana White suggested that Sean O’Malley keep a close eye on the main event.

“I think he’s gonna be watching this fight closely and could possibly fight the winner,” Dana White told Jim Rome. “We’d make that decision the following Tuesday in matchmaking.” While the UFC CEO did mention making that decision a few days after the fight, he hasn’t confirmed it yet, so we still don’t know if O’Malley’s title rematch is what the idea is for his return.

There’s no confirmation on anything yet, but going by the UFC head honcho’s words, it does seem like ‘Suga’ is well on his way to a title fight rematch, this time as the #1 contender. O’Malley wants to fight in the Summer, and that seems like a perfect time for Dvalishvili to come back for his second title defense.

Do you think Sean O’Malley gets a shot at the belt that was once his? If yes, do you think he’ll emerge successful over ‘The Machine’, this time around? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.