Mario Bautista opens up about potential "Sugar" Sean O'Malley fight, their dynamics as teammates

Mario Bautista has shed light on a potential fight between himself and his former training partner "Sugar" Sean O'Malley. 

Bautista is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Cory Sandhagen at UFC 329, leveling the score in their two-fight series. Sandhagen was his UFC debut opponent in 2019 and had beaten him by first-round submission back then. 

Mario Bautista outlines the conditions which could lead to his fighting "Sugar" Sean O'Malley

During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, after beating Cory Sandhagen at UFC 329 last weekend, Mario Bautista addressed a number of topics. 

Prominently, the Nevada-born Arizona-based combatant -- who's now ranked No. 4 in the Meta UFC rankings -- spoke about a possible clash against the No. 3-ranked Sean O'Malley. 

The 33-year-old acknowledged that they'd long been teammates. He suggested, however, that he'd fight O'Malley if a number-one contender's fight or title fight necessitates it. 

Bautista stated, "Yeah, that's so crazy. It's just like a topic of conversation I've had lately. And it s*cks. We're both coming up to a point there. And what other fights can we make? But I think if it came down to it, I think if it was for a number-one contender spot or for the title, like, what else can I do?"

Moreover, Bautista alluded that their dynamics as teammates were quite positive, highlighting that he and O'Malley still "dap each other up" when they meet.

The veteran fighter recalled his great memories from their time as training partners coming up as young amateurs heading to the gym. Bautista also recounted helping "Sugar" in training camps for his early UFC fights. 

He added, "I love Sean. But I think we both have the same dream. And yeah, I think it would just be something we'd have to do." 

Mario Bautista indicates that he hasn't trained with "Sugar" Sean O'Malley in years

Sean O'Malley, for his part, is coming off a TKO win against Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250 last month. The former UFC bantamweight champion has been eager to reclaim UFC gold, which presently belongs to Petr Yan, whom he beat via split decision in 2022. 

Nevertheless, Yan is one apiece in his series of fights against former UFC bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili. The consensus is that the UFC is likely to book the Yan-Dvalishvili trilogy fight for the title next. 

Meanwhile, some have called for top contenders O'Malley and Mario Bautista to face one another to determine who challenges the Yan-Dvalishvili winner for UFC bantamweight gold. 

Well, when asked how long it'd been since he last trained with O'Malley, Bautista said, "It's been years."

The John Crouch-trained fighter claimed that he last trained with O'Malley to help the latter prepare for his fight against Petr Yan back in 2022. He further implied that "Sugar" trained at the MMA Lab for around six years before departing. 

It's well-known that O'Malley's primary training is supervised by his head coach Tim Welch. As such, Bautista signaled that he and O'Malley haven't been teammates, per se, in recent years. 

Watch Mario Bautista discuss a possible showdown against Sean O'Malley below: 

Mario Bautista discusses the possibility of fighting former teammate and friend Sean O'Malley:

"It sucks. We're both getting to a point where you start asking, 'What other fights can we make?'

I love Sean, but I think we both have the same dream. If it came down to a No. 1… pic.twitter.com/IbPRUi303I

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 15, 2026