Sean O’Malley has his immediate future all mapped out.

Outside of an exception here or there, the UFC has turned away from champion vs. champion fights in recent years after it felt like they were becoming the norm. The featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is the most recent champion to try and hold multiple titles at once after he attempted it twice in 2023. Unfortunately for “The Great,” he came up short in both his bids opposite the lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev.

Depending on how things shake out across the UFC landscape, Volkanovski could be the next champion to defend his throne against a fellow champion. O’Malley has made it no secret as of late that he wants to enter rarified air by holding two titles at some point in his career. Ideally for “Sugar,” he’ll successfully defend his bantamweight title against Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 299 in March before challenging a newly crowned Ilia Topuria, who will have to defeat Volkanovski at UFC 298 next month in Los Angeles. But what about just facing Volkanovski should he stay unbeaten at 145 pounds? Well, O’Malley just simply admires the Australian legend as a person more than he does “El Matador.”

“I don’t know. I guess that is a possibility,” O’Malley told Shakiel Mahjouri of challenging Volkanovski. “I guess I always said I didn’t want that fight but you never know. That fight definitely could happen. But if Ilia wins, I want it for sure. If ‘Volk’ wins, I think I stay down and defend my belt one or two more times. I need to get champ-champ status. If ‘Volk’s’ there in a couple of fights, that’s the fight we’ll take. We’ll go with the flow.

“‘Volk’s’ such a cool dude. Ilia seems very, very easy to dislike… Fighting is a weird sport. I always looked at it like chess and never too fight-y, but you still got to want to f*** someone up and I want to f*** up Ilia so it just makes it easier.”

O’Malley and Topuria have both been virtually flawless throughout their respective careers. In the case of Topuria, he has been, boasting a 14-0 record ahead of his clash with Volkanovski. Meanwhile, O’Malley’s rematch with Vera at UFC 299 will be his opportunity at redemption for his August 2020 first-round TKO loss — his only in 19 fights.

A move up in weight to pursue O’Malley’s dream of double champion status would admittedly be a nightmare scenario for the talent-rich bantamweight division. The 29-year-old has about as many options for challengers as any champion could ask for heading into 2024, and arguably isn’t even lined up to fight the most deserving of the bunch for his first defense. Ultimately, the champion doesn’t have much to worry about when it comes to staying active.

“If Ilia wins, I’m going to win then that is the fight that happens next,” O’Malley said. “Then I could see myself going back down to 135 pounds to defend that one. If Ilia ends up losing, there’s Merab [Dvalishvili], Henry [Cejudo], Cory [Sandhagen], if Umar [Nurmagomedov] can string a couple together there’s Umar. I have so many options. It’s a great position to be in.”

TOP STORIES

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VIDEO STEW

The MMA Hour.

UFC 297 Embedded 1.

Official Strickland vs. Du Plessis preview.

Canada’s best.

Throwback.

The War Room: Strickland vs. Du Plessis.

LISTEN UP

On To the Next One. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alex K. Lee discuss the matches to make after UFC Vegas 84.

MORNING MUSIC

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Onward.

New era.

Rush.

Who is that?

Impressive, to say the least.

Business…

There it is, lol.

Khabib.

Can you tell she’s Fairtex?

Hunter.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mohammed Usman (11-2) vs. Chris Barnett (23-8); UFC Vegas 88, March 23

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think both Volk and Ilia are pretty tough matchups for O’Malley. At the same time, I think we all will underestimate how well he’d do against either.

Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

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