Sean O’Malley had a specific opponent in mind for UFC Freedom 250, and it was not Aiemann Zahabi.
Speaking to FOX 11 Los Angeles, O’Malley explained why his original target for the June 14 White House card did not come to fruition, pointing directly at Yan’s reluctance as the reason the title fight did not materialize.
“I was supposed to fight Petr Yan, the champ, the little Russian, but I beat him last time so he didn’t want to fight this time. That would have been a big fight. I’m fighting a guy named Aiemann Zahabi, he’s on a seven-fight win streak, he’s from Canada, a Canadian fella, so it’s kind of America vs. Canada-ish if you’re looking at it that way, which is kind of exciting. Very tough, very durable, very experienced. Very tough fight. An exciting challenge, he’s going to be more of a kickboxer style so it’s going to be a very exciting, electric kickboxing fight with little gloves on.”
O’Malley and Yan previously met at UFC 280 in October 2022, with O’Malley winning a close decision. Yan subsequently won the bantamweight title by defeating Merab Dvalishvili, who had beaten O’Malley twice. A rematch with the belt on the line would have been one of the more commercially appealing fights on the White House card. Instead, Yan remains unbooked.
O’Malley addressed the America versus Canada dimension of his Zahabi matchup in a separate interview with Against The Cage, keeping his focus on the competitive element rather than any broader narrative.
“I’m not a very political person, I would say pretty much not at all. For me, it doesn’t matter who I’m fighting, but it is America vs. Canada, there’s a little bit of that to it. This is just man vs. man. We’re going to get locked in the doors and see who quits, see who breaks, see who gets knocked out first, that’s what it is every fight for me. But it is fun, there’s a little bit of the America-Canada thing, so it adds to it a little bit. Team vs. team, people like to pick teams, so there’s that aspect to it, but for me it’s just human vs. human.”
O’Malley is coming off a win over Song Yadong in January that snapped a two-fight losing streak, both of those losses having come in title fights against Dvalishvili. A strong showing at the White House is his best argument for jumping back into the championship conversation.
“Who knows, maybe if I would have went out there and finished Song in spectacular fashion I would have got the Petr fight. I don’t know. The UFC does what they do and all I can do is go out there and fight and put on performances, so if I go out there and get a beautiful performance, I don’t see how I’m not next for the title.”
UFC Freedom 250 takes place June 14 at the White House South Lawn in Washington D.C., streaming on Paramount+.