UFC White House live blog: Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi

Sean O'Malley defeated Aiemann Zahabi via second-round knockout at 4:02 at UFC White House in Washington, D.C. on Sunday.

The bantamweight clash pitted No. 5-ranked O'Malley (19-3, 1 NC) against No. 8-ranked Zahabi (14-2) on the main card. O'Malley, a former UFC champion, was seeking to climb back into title contention after consecutive title fight losses to Merab Dvalishvili. Prior to those defeats, he had earned a split-decision victory over Petr Yan in 2022, then captured the bantamweight title with a win over Aljamain Sterling.

Zahabi, a 38-year-old Canadian, carried a seven-fight winning streak into the bout—the longest active streak in the 135-pound division at the time—and had victories over notable opponents including Jose Aldo, Marlon Vera, and Pedro Munhoz. A title shot was within reach for Zahabi with a successful upset. He entered with former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre in his corner.

O'Malley dominated from the start, leveraging superior reach and striking accuracy to keep Zahabi circling on the outside. A crisp jab and right-hand combination early in round two scored cleanly. Late in the round, O'Malley dropped Zahabi with a straight left hand. As Zahabi rose, O'Malley connected with a one-two combination that sent him down again, ending the fight. O'Malley immediately saluted while the referee intervened. Post-fight, he called for a title shot against Petr Yan.