Morning Report: Sean O’Malley would still ‘like to consider myself the GOAT’ of bantamweight by end of career

Sean O'Malley is mounting a comeback in the bantamweight division and believes he can still carve out a place in GOAT conversations if he can string together high-profile wins. The former UFC bantamweight champion lost his title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 and suffered a submission loss in the immediate rematch, temporarily sidelining him from title contention. However, O'Malley has won back-to-back bouts against Song Yadong and Aiemann Zahabi, reigniting his championship aspirations.

In a recent interview, O'Malley acknowledged the difficulty of determining bantamweight's greatest fighter, noting that Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling, and Dvalishvili are all in the conversation. O'Malley has defeated both Yan and Sterling, a fact he emphasized when laying out his path forward. He is closely watching the third meeting between Yan and Dvalishvili scheduled for October 24 at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, viewing a Yan victory as his best route back to a title shot.

At 31 years old, O'Malley expressed renewed motivation to achieve greatness in his 30s, citing potential matchups against Merab, Umar Nurmagomedov, Cory Sandhagen, and others as opportunities to cement his legacy. Reflecting on his nine-year UFC tenure and record of 12-3 with one no-contest, O'Malley said the two losses to Dvalishvili temporarily plateaued his trajectory but believe his ceiling remains far higher. He stressed his gratitude for his rise to stardom while emphasizing that significant unfinished business remains.