Sean O’Malley: ‘I’ll be surprised if I get hit once’ against Petr Yan at UFC 280

Surging bantamweight Sean O’Malley is looking to rise to the occasion at UFC 280, with ‘Suga’ expecting to get his hands raised after putting on a striking clinic against one of the best boxers in the division in former champion Petr Yan.

O’Malley (15-1 MMA, 7-1-1 NC UFC) is growing with confidence as the fight draws nearer and believes Yan (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) stands no chance at closing the distance and hitting him, Tweeting ‘I’ll be surprised if I get hit once’ ahead of the Oct. 22 matchup.

‘4 weeks till I get to bet up Peter,’ O’Malley posted in an earlier Tweet.

O’Malley will be looking to impress in his next bout after his previous fight ended in a controversial No Contest (NC) after landing an accidental eye poke on No. 8-ranked bantamweight Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276. Prior to that, O’Malley was riding a three-fight winning streak against Thomas Almeida, Kris Moutinho, and Raulian Paiva, finishing all three opponents via KO/TKO.

Yan will be looking to rebound following a split decision loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 273 that saw the Russian come up short of reclaiming his bantamweight title. He is currently #1 in the UFC bantamweight rankings and represents O’Malley’s toughest test in the Octagon to date, with the latter having never fought anyone in the top five.

UFC 280, which features Yan vs. O’Malley on the main card, takes place next month, October 22, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.