Sean O’Malley has revealed that Song Yadong was not his preferred opponent for his planned 2026 return to the Octagon. After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his career, O’Malley admitted he asked the UFC for a different matchup—one he felt would be more manageable.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, the former bantamweight champion said he initially requested Aiemann Zahabi:
“I asked for Aiemann. I was like, ‘Let’s just do something a little easier,’ but they were like, ‘Nah, we want you to fight Song Yadong.’ So I was like, ‘Alright, I guess I’ll fight Song.’”
O’Malley later clarified that he was “joking,” but acknowledged that Zahabi’s style may have made him seem like the more favorable matchup. He added that he follows Chael Sonnen’s philosophy of taking the “most beatable” opponent for the biggest reward—though he still likes the matchup with Song.
O’Malley and Yadong have long been linked, and the fight offers major stakes: O’Malley gets a shot at beating a top-five contender, while Yadong gets a career-defining name on his résumé.
O’Malley recently marked eight years since his UFC debut, while Yadong actually joined the promotion slightly earlier, earning a Performance of the Night bonus in November 2017.
