The bantamweight title picture is stuck in a holding pattern, and Sean O’Malley is trying to read the room without overplaying his hand. With champion Petr Yan sidelined after back surgery and Merab Dvalishvili reportedly already in line for another crack at the title, the division feels like it’s waiting on one man’s medical issues to clear up.

‘Suga’ knows that timing matters. He’s coming off a rebound win over Song Yadong at UFC 324, and while 12 of 21 media outlets scored the fight for him, it wasn’t the kind of statement win that forces the UFC’s hand overnight. That leaves the neon-haired star in a familiar spot: relevant, loud enough to stay in the mix, but not in control of the schedule.

As per recent reports, the champion logged nine hours under anesthesia for lumbar surgery and told fans he’ll be in rehab for “a few months.” In a division where momentum evaporates fast, those months matter. And Sean O’Malley is clearly thinking about what comes next, especially if the UFC lines up Yan vs. Dvalishvili again.

On the BroMalley Show podcast, when asked whether he’d wait if ‘The Machine’ gets the next title shot, he said, “I have no idea. I mean, I don’t even know how much of it is my say. I’m going to wait till the UFC hits me up and let me know what they want.”

But then he laid out the part that raised eyebrows: “I want Petr Yan next. I hate the idea of him coming off back surgery and fighting Merab.” O’Malley also warned that rushing back from surgery is a bad idea because he made that mistake with his own hip, and he thinks coming off lumbar surgery straight into a Merab Dvalishvili fight would be a terrible call.

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So why angle for Yan instead of waiting? ‘Suga’ was blunt as he shared, “I’m not gonna go out there and shoot and try to wrestle him. You want to try to go through fight camp, try to wrestle?  Yeah, I think it makes sense. Why would you fight Merab after back surgery when you can fight me? I suck at wrestling. I can’t grapple. I’m one in two of my last three.”

It’s self-deprecating, but it’s also strategic. The Georgian’s game is built on pace, pressure, and relentless grappling. Coming off lumbar surgery and jumping into five rounds of that sounds like a bad idea. Fighting O’Malley, who isn’t shooting doubles for 25 minutes, is the safer first step back, at least on paper.

Yet, Sean O’Malley’s case isn’t just about opportunism. It’s also about positioning. He holds a controversial win over Yan from their first meeting in 2022, a result that still gets argued online. Beating ‘No Mercy’ again, especially if Yan’s timing is off post-surgery, reframes that debate and puts ’Suga’ right back in the title conversation.

And if the UFC insists on Yan vs. Dvalishvili first, O’Malley risks waiting while Umar Nurmagomedov builds steam after coasting past Deiveson Figueiredo on the same UFC 324 card. So, why doesn’t he take on the Dagestani contender instead?

Umar Nurmagomedov lays out bantamweight matchups as he aims at Sean O’Malley’s hesitation to fight him

If the rematch happens, the cleanest way for Sean O’Malley to stay busy would be to take on Umar Nurmagomedov. On paper, it makes sense. In reality, it’s a road O’Malley doesn’t sound thrilled to walk, but Nurmagomedov sees the lane clearly.

After bouncing back from his title loss to Merab Dvalishvili with wins over Mario Bautista and Deiveson Figueiredo, he called the pecking order a two-man race, unless the UFC runs Yan vs. Merab again. In that case, he wants O’Malley next. As he put it in an interview with Gorilla Fighting, “If there is a rematch between Yan and Merab, I would like to fight against O’Malley, the contender (bout). I find it hard to believe that Sean will agree to this fight and that the UFC will make it happen.”

Why the doubt? Timing and leverage. Nurmagomedov is climbing fast, but he’s still one big win away from being unavoidable. O’Malley, meanwhile, just steadied himself with a decision over Song Yadong at UFC 324 and knows how quickly one wrong matchup can shove you back in line.

There’s also the UFC’s calendar. The Dagestani fighter fought in Abu Dhabi in the summer for a five-round main event. That’s a long, grindy assignment for a striker trying to keep his title path clean. As he shared, “The situation in the UFC is as follows: If Petr wins the rematch, his next fight will be against O’Malley, then I’ll be next. But if Merab wins the rematch, I’ll be next. Sean fought him twice. In the last fight, Merab choked him.”

O’Malley can lobby, posture, and joke about wrestling all he wants, but the board moves when the promotion moves. So, who do you think ‘Suga’ should take on next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!