Sean O'Malley eyes UFC 306 knockout, 145-pound title shot, then 'a big boxing fight'

Bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley has some big plans after UFC 306.

O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) defends his title against Merab Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the Noche UFC main event Sept. 14 at Sphere in Las Vegas.

If he can get past Dvalishvili, O’Malley has his sights set on the winner of the featherweight title fight between champion Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway at UFC 308 on Oct. 26. If he’s able to become UFC dual-champion, O’Malley says a boxing fight should be undeniable.

“I beat Merab – knock him out viciously, boom, land a couple of extra shots before the ref can get in. Then Ilia (and) Max fight, and I’ll fight the winner of whoever wins that,” O’Malley said on the DeepCut podcast. “If Max wins, he’s the ’45-pound champ and BMF. If Ilia wins, he’s the ’45 and BMF. Moving up would be a massive, massive fight for the company, for the UFC.

“I want to get a big boxing fight. I want Gervonta Davis. I want Ryan Garcia. I want a big boxing fight. I’ve got to earn that big boxing fight. The way I do that is by going up a weight class and knocking one of those guys out. You can’t deny me a boxing fight if I go out there and knock Merab out, knock Ilia out or Max out. You can’t deny that. You’ve got to give me that boxing fight.”

UFC fighters don’t usually have the flexibility to box, but an exception was made for Conor McGregor when he laced up the gloves against Floyd Mayweather in 2017. A budding star, O’Malley thinks he could also earn a big opportunity like that if his plans go accordingly.

“People hate when I bring up boxing,” O’Malley said. “They hate it, and I’m fine with that. They can hate on it, but if I do that, you’ve got to give it to me. You’ve got to say, ‘OK, you get that.’ That’s kind of where my head’s at.

“That same delusional 16-year-old that would’ve told everyone I’m going to be in the UFC, I’m going to be the champ and defend the belt, they think I’m crazy, are the same people that think I’m crazy for even saying that. People have been saying that my whole life. That doesn’t affect me or make me feel any certain way, like, ‘Oh, maybe that can’t happen.’ That doesn’t even make sense to me. Anything can happen.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.