"Suga" Sean O'Malley Switches Tune on Greatest UFC Fighter at 135

Sean O'Malley (20-3, 1 NC MMA, 12-3, 1 NC UFC) is still basking in the glory of his June 14 victory on the south lawn of The White House in Washington, DC in UFC Freedom 250. That Sunday night, he scored a second-round knockout of Aiemann Zahabi (14-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) due to punches. 

 

Sean O'Malley, nicknamed "Suga," is a luminary in the bantamweight division, having logged 24 professional fights in MMA. Earlier on in 2026, O'Malley teased ahead of UFC 324 that this year could be his last as an active competitor in the sport, but he updated these remarks later on, saying that he'd keep fighting for as long as his body allows him to.

In his professional career, he's seen a number of prominent quasars do battle at 135, with some of them standing across from him in the fabled Octagon. On Monday, Sean O'Malley was a guest of the One Night with Steiny podcast. During the episode, a number of topics were discussed, including a shift in opinion as to who the greatest bantamweight of all-time is.

Sean O'Malley Changes Opinion on Greatest Bantamweight for Third Time Monday

Prior to Monday's podcast, O'Malley identified two different fighters as the greatest contestant at 135 in history. When the episode was released Monday evening, "Suga" identified a third different name as the bantamweight G.O.A.T.

"I thought Aljo was the greatest of all-time," Sean O'Malley began, referring to Aljamain Sterling. "I went out there, beat him, Merab Dvalishvili goes on this crazy streak. I'm like, 'God, Merab is the greatest of all-time,' and then Petr Yan comes back, looks insane against Merab, and I'm like 'Petr is the greatest bantamweight of all-time'".

Sean O'Malley Pushed for Yan Fight During UFC Freedom 250

Sean O'Malley went onto say that he advocated for a contest against Petr Yan at UFC Freedom 250 on June 13. If the fight had taken place, it would have been a rematch of a contest between the two from October of 2022, won by "Suga" via split decision. The second bout never came to fruition, however.

"I wanted the Petr fight," he mentioned. "When they called me and said 'Do you want to fight on the White House card?', I was like 'I want Petr Yan.' They said, 'No, he's terrified.' I don't know if they actually said that, but I think they did."

O'Malley can't understand why Petr Yan would decline to fight him a second time on UFC Freedom 250.

"That's what I heard," he said of Yan's refusal. "That's what I've been hearing. "I can't imagine it, though. Why would you be scared of me? Our first fight was pretty close. Don't be that scared. You're a champ."

Sean O'Malley on Conor McGregor's Comeback Fight at UFC 329

On the night of July 11, UFC 329 will be held inside Enterprise, NV's T-Mobile Arena as the headlining event of the UFC's 2026 International Fight Week. At the top of the bill that second Saturday night of July, Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) will make his return to competition after five years away against Max Holloway (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) in a welterweight fight.

O'Malley weighed in on the return of "The Notorious."

"I think he's in a really good mindspace right now," he said. "It seems like he's in a really good spot, but he hasn't won a fight in five years. He's just calm. If he goes out there and knocks out Max Holloway, the Mac is back and he's losing his mind, in a great way, in a good way, maybe not as crazy. You learn so many lessons when you go through stuff like that."