Who Gets Petr Yan Next? Dana White Speaks on Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong Dilemma

Tom Aspinall’s prediction came true as Petr Yan retained the UFC bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over Merab Dvalishvili in the action-packed UFC 333 co-main event on Saturday, headlined by Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evloev. The win gave Yan a 2-1 edge in the trilogy. 

The victory sent the UFC back to the drawing board to pick Yan's next challenger, with Sean O'Malley and Song Yadong currently in play. However, Dana White is not sure who will get the next opportunity to face the bantamweight champion. 

Dana White Weighs In on Sean O'Malley and Song Yadong for Next Title Shot

Yadong and O'Malley are the next two top contenders for the title shot, ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the bantamweight division. One of them will face Yan next. However, deciding which fighter gets the opportunity remains a million-dollar question.

After his victory, Yan said his job as champion is to fight whoever the UFC puts in front of him. Song was in Abu Dhabi for the broadcast, and O'Malley has openly called for a Yan rematch. Still, Yan named a clear preference on the microphone.

“Listen to me, brother: I’m the champion of this organization; I do not pick fights,” he told Daniel Cormier during the post-fight cage interview. “This organization puts the next contender in front of me, and I’m ready to fight with any of them. Give me Song Yadong, give me King Kong! Give me anybody! Just make the weight and I will take you down!”

At the post-fight press conference, a reporter asked the UFC boss about Yan's call-out. White noted that matchmakers were already working through the options.

"Yeah, well me and the matchmakers were texting the entire night about and O'Malley. You know, obviously both are great options and it's a good problem to have to figure out which one of those two would be next," White said.

Whoever gets the next title shot against Yan will trigger a blockbuster fight because both bantamweights bring entirely different cases to the table.

Sean O'Malley and Song Yadong Bring Different Cases to Yan Title Fight

O'Malley holds the only win over Yan among the contenders, defeating him by a close split decision at UFC 280 in October 2022. Because that original bout was highly controversial, White will not need to bake in any extra hype for this rematch. 

"Suga" built a 2-0 record in 2026, earning a 29-28 unanimous decision over Song at UFC 324 on January 24, before stopping Aiemann Zahabi with second-round punches at UFC Freedom 250. He called for a rematch with Yan after both victories.

But Yan dropped Song's name on the microphone right after his fight in Abu Dhabi. Although the Russian champion previously defeated the Chinese contender by unanimous decision at UFC 299, Song rebounded strongly after his loss to "Suga."

He submitted Deiveson Figueiredo with a guillotine choke on May 30 and knocked out Umar Nurmagomedov in the second round at UFC Shanghai in August. Now, the decision rests entirely with the matchmakers to determine which fight makes the most sense for a future card.