Sean O’Malley responds to Zahabi’s stirring Oct. 18 call-out

Sean O’Malley, like many fighters and fans around the world, went to watch UFC Vancouver last Saturday night. The Rogers Arena card saw Aiemann Zahabi, the No. 9 contender in the bantamweight rankings, emerge victorious against No. 7 contender Marlon Vera via unanimous decision after 15 minutes of action.

In the aftermath of This weekend at UFC Vancouver, #1 contender at 135 lbs, Sean O’Malley, was challenged to a fight by Aiemann Zahabi after the latter surpassed “Chito” in the legendary Octagon.

Response to Aiemann Zahabi calling me pic.twitter.com/EMvWM3Rcvq

— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) October 19, 2025

“Sean O’Malley, you’re next, honey,” Aiemann Zahabi said simply. “It’s me and the Suga Show!” In one video Posted to O’Malley’s

Aiemann Zahabi responds to Sean O’Malley’s wordless video

While O’Malley didn’t actually verbalize his thoughts on Aiemann Zahabi’s invitation to fight in the new year, the video gives the impression that “Suga” was receptive to Zahabi’s challenge once the calendar turned to 2026. post-fight media availability The topic of Sean O’Malley was discussed in British Columbia on Saturday evening.

“That’s good,” Zahabi said backstage to the assembled press on October 18. [the fight] upwards. If he didn’t want to, he wouldn’t have made a video.”

Aiemann Zahabi has more than earned the right to invite top-ranked Sean O’Malley after his latest victory. Zahabi sputtered out of the gate to start his UFC tenure, but has turned things around in a big way as of late.

Zahabi Winner of Seven Straight Ahead by Sean O’Malley Callout

UFC Vancouver marked Aiemann Zahabi’s seventh straight victory in the wake of losing two of his first three bouts under the promotional banner. Dating back to the beginning of his current winning streak, he defeated the likes of Aoriqileng, Jose Aldo and Drako Rodriguez, alongside Marlon Vera in Vancouver last Saturday night.

Zahabi has been on edge lately, and when a fighter is on edge, he is a competitor at his most dangerous. It is even more dangerous if the fighter is ranked in his weight class.

Still, one has to wonder whether the challenge Aiemann Zahabi has posed to Sean O’Malley is too big an ask. After all, O’Malley is the former UFC bantamweight champion.

Researching Sean O’Malley’s recent form

To find Sean O’Malley’s final fight in the Octagon, you must travel back in time to the evening of June 7 in Newark, NJ. That night, “Suga” saw his 14th career appearance under Dana White’s promotional banner end in a defeat by third-round submission via north-south choke with 18 seconds left in a rematch against Merab Dvalishvili.

His first fight against Dvalishvili didn’t go so well either. On September 14, 2024 at the Vegas Sphere at UFC 306, the two competitors went the full advertised 25 minutes, with Dvalishvili dropping a unanimous decision.

Prior to his ongoing two-fight losing streak, Sean O’Malley was undefeated in his previous seven trips to the cage, going 6-0 with one no-contest between March 2021 and March last year. This raises one simple question:

Would Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi be a fight not to be missed?

At its core, a potential matchup between these two fighters would be interesting. You would have two fighters going into the fight in opposite directions. On the one hand, Sean O’Malley would look to right the ship after dropping two straight games to Dvalishvili in flagship Eves.

On the other hand, Aiemann Zahabi is quickly becoming one of the household names at bantamweight in the UFC. Zahabi is now firmly in the top-10 at 135 and this potential matchup against Sean O’Malley could easily serve as the main event of a UFC Fight Night event on Paramount Plus, the UFC’s new US streaming platform.

The promotional material would easy write themselves up for the competition. A top candidate in the rebound against a rising opponent. UFC fans around the world would love to see this match if and when it happens.