O’Malley Ties Talbott Fight to UFC 333 Title Bout

Sean O’Malley says he is open to fighting Payton Talbott next if Merab Dvalishvili defeats bantamweight champion Petr Yan, while a Yan victory would lead O’Malley to seek a title rematch. The conditional preference leaves the potential matchup dependent on the outcome of the UFC 333 title bout, scheduled for October 24. The discussion followed Talbott’s first-round knockout of former champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 332. After the win, Talbott called out O’Malley, another former bantamweight champion, and said he wanted to face him next. Talbott has won back-to-back fights against former UFC champions, according to the reports. Talbott has said he was in talks to fight O’Malley at UFC Freedom 250, held at the White House in June. O’Malley has denied receiving an offer for the matchup. The two accounts do not establish what communication took place between the UFC or the fighters’ representatives, and no booking record or confirmation from the promotion is provided. In comments addressing the claim, O’Malley said he had not been offered Talbott as an opponent for the White House event.