HELENA — Helena mixed martial arts fighter Sean O’Malley is set to face his toughest opponent yet.
In an interview with ESPN on Wednesday, O’Malley confirmed that he will fight former UFC bantamweight champion and current No. 1 contender Petr Yan at UFC 280 on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The No. 13 ranked O’Malley most recently fought a no contest against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276, as the result of a stoppage due to an accidental eye poke.
Since joining the UFC in 2017, the 27-year old O’Malley is 7-1 in the promotion with one no contest. He is 15-1, 1 NC as a professional, winning his first five pro fights in Montana.
Yan, from Russia, is 16-3 as a professional with a 8-2 mark in the UFC. Both of his losses came against current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. Yan was disqualified in their first bout in 2021 after an illegal knee, and fell via split decision in the rematch at UFC 273 in April. Yan became UFC bantamweight champion in July of 2020 with a TKO victory over Jose Aldo before eventually losing it to Sterling.
UFC 280 will be headlined by a lightweight title bout between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Sterling will also defend the bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw in the co-main event.
