UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley isn't making any promises about what will be next after he fights Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306.
Many believe Umar Nurmagomedov should be next in line for the winner of Saturday's main event at Sphere in Las Vegas. O'Malley won't rule out that matchup, but he also sees a title defense against Deiveson Figueiredo or a superfight with featherweight champ Ilia Topuria as possibilities if he gets past Dvalishvili.
"As far as who's next, it's definitely not Umar. It could be," O'Malley said Wednesday at UFC 306 media day. "It could be Figgy. It could be Ilia. There's options. Right now, it's pointless. I gotta go out there and take care of Merab. But we got options after."
Nurmagomedov, the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib, earned the No. 2 spot in the division by defeating Cory Sandhagen in the UFC Abu Dhabi main event in August. Nurmagomedov is undefeated as a pro at 18-0, and UFC CEO Dana White said after the Russian's latest victory that it made sense for him to challenge for the title next.
Interestingly, Dvalishvili agrees with O'Malley that Nurmagomedov is not a shoo-in for the next title shot. Dvalishvili, ranked No. 1 at 135 pounds, said last week he believes Figueiredo - the former UFC flyweight champion who's 3-0 since moving to bantamweight - is more deserving than Nurmagomedov.
That said, O'Malley does think a fight between him and Nurmagomedov would be lucrative. The 29-year-old said it's the closest comparison to Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor in 2018, which is widely regarded as the biggest fight in UFC history.
"Absolutely. It's the Irish, Russian," said O'Malley, who has Irish roots. "It's there for the big fight."
O'Malley will defend his title for the second time Saturday after dominating Marlon "Chito" Vera at UFC 299 in March.
