The Impressive Performance of Sean O’Malley at UFC 299 and Ilia Topuria’s Response
Ilia Topuria watched Sean O’Malley’s dominant victory over Marlon Vera at UFC 299 and was certainly impressed. However, he believes that before O’Malley can think of moving up to challenge for the 145-pound title, there is another obstacle he needs to overcome.
O’Malley successfully defended his bantamweight belt with a unanimous decision win in Miami. During his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, he expressed his desire for a fight against Topuria as his next challenge. Nevertheless, he did mention that he is open to defending his 135-pound title against the No. 1 contender Merab Dvalishvili if the UFC so decides.
Topuria wasted no time in responding to O’Malley’s callout on Twitter after the fight.
“Suga, congrats… was a beautiful performance,” Topuria tweeted. “There is a fight chasing you with Merab. Get that done first.”
Topuria made headlines by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski to win the UFC featherweight title in a fight that is already a contender for “Knockout of the Year.” Dana White, the UFC CEO, and Topuria are both optimistic that the new champion’s first title defense will happen in Spain later this year.
While there is no set timeline for the promotion’s debut in Spain following the latest event, White remains hopeful for an exciting future for Topuria and O’Malley in their respective divisions.