Sean O’Malley Expects to Return as UFC Main Event in Early 2024

While it appears December isn’t in the cards for Sean O'Malley, the newly-crowned bantamweight king is likely to be the featured attraction for his next Ultimate Fighting Championship appearance.

After he defeated Aljamain Sterling to claim bantamweight gold at UFC 292, O’Malley called for a rematch against Marlon Vera at the end of the year. The Las Vegas-based promotion had other ideas, as it announced that Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington would headline UFC 296 on Dec. 16.

Instead, O’Malley revealed during a recent appearance on the JRE MMA Show Show that he will likely return for a UFC main event in early 2024.

“I really, really did truly want to fight in December,” O’Malley said. “I called out ‘Chito’ for December, but then I talked to the UFC and … they were trying to get Colby and Leon together. I asked them, and they want me to main event my own show, which I think is f—ing dope. I’m down with that.”

Vera, who handed O’Malley his lone career defeat at UFC 252, is the champion’s desired opponent. However, both Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili also have legitimate claims to the No. 1 contender’s position at 135 pounds.

“I’m really hoping [the UFC] f—-ing just say ‘let’s f—ing do it,’” O’Malley said of the Vera bout.

Regardless of who the opponent might be, “Sugar” is excited about the challenge of his first title defense. “I’ve still got to go out there and prove it. I think once you become champ, it’s like are you champ? You’ve got to go defend the belt. You’ve got to defend the f—-ing belt, so I’m looking forward to that.”

O’Malley admits that he would like to be part of the highly-anticipated UFC 300 lineup, but he believes it’s more likely that he’ll be on the schedule earlier than that.

“I think UFC 300 is in April,” O’Malley said. “That would be a sweet card to be on, but … I’m going to guess before that, before UFC 300.”