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One of the UFC's biggest upcoming prospects, Sean O'Malley, added yet another win to his resume last weekend when he defeated Kris Moutinho via TKO. The victory may well see O'Malley move into the top 15 when the new rankings are released. This brings with it the prospect of multiple new matchups for the eccentric bantamweight.
So there is no better time than now to make a list of the top five potential opponents for O'Malley after his UFC 264 victory. Following the win over Moutinho, O'Malley made four callouts of his fellow bantamweights. Only one of those fighters will be omitted from this list, that man being Petr Yan who is all but guaranteed a rematch with Aljamin Sterling for the 135lb belt next.
Honorable mentions go to Ricky Simon and Brian Kelleher, both of whom showed willingness to step in on short notice to replace O'Malley's original opponent Louis Smolka. Smolka was forced to drop out after contracting a staph infection. Kelleher and Simon are both interesting matchups for O'Malley, but it is likely that he will only be looking at ranked opponents from now on.
#5. Sean O'Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili
As mentioned above, both Kelleher and Simon offered to step in on short notice to fight Sean O'Malley at UFC 264. There was also another 135lb fighter who put his name in the hat, that being the 10th ranked bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili.
Nothing came of Dvalishvili's call-out but fans are now aware of his desire to fight Sean O'Malley. Dvalishvili would be an incredibly tough test for the prospect. He utilizes a brutal wrestling game which involves repeated takedowns and suffocating top pressure. Considering O'Malley's preference to keep the fight on the feet, Dvalishvili could well be his kryptonite.
However, a win against such a high-level wrestler would raise Sean O'Malley's stock exponentially. It would also see him move right into the top ten of the division, placing him only a fight or two away from a title shot.
#4. Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Vera 2
The lone loss on Sean O'Malley's record is to Marlon 'Chito' Vera. It was admittedly a somewhat strange fight, with O'Malley's leg appearing to essentially give up on him. However, Vera caused it with damaging low kicks and then jumped on O'Malley to finish the fight via ground and pound.
O'Malley has since claimed that he does not count the fight as a loss due to its peculiar nature. There is already a narrative between these two men. With Vera ranked at 13th in the division, it could well be the perfect stepping stone for either fighter to break into the top 10.
#3. Sean O'Malley vs. Cody Garbrandt
The first of Sean O'Malley's post-fight call-outs to be featured on this list is former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt. The callout makes sense in a lot of ways. Garbrandt is a big name, he loves to trade on the feet and he is coming off a loss.
Unfortunately, he appears to be leaning towards a move down to flyweight, possibly targeting a fight with former 125lb champion Deiveson Figueiredo. However, he has not had a fight at flyweight officially announced so there is still a chance the two will get matched up.
Both men have walk-off knockouts on their record and have some of the cleanest striking in the division. This matchup is arguably the most fan-friendly out of the whole list and would be an incredibly intriguing veteran vs prospect competition.
#2. Sean O'Malley vs Dominick Cruz
This may well be the fight that makes the most sense to make. Dominick Cruz is a big name, ranked just inside the top 10 and was one of the names called out by Sean O'Malley. The only reason Cruz is not at the top of the list is due to O'Malley somewhat dampening the interest in this bout. O'Malley did this by stating that he believes it is unlikely Cruz will take the fight.
But Cruz is yet to publicly turn down the fight offer and he has shown a willingness to face off against upcoming prospects in the past. His performance against Casey Kenny is a perfect example of this. Cruz does not currently have a fight booked. A matchup with Sean O'Malley could easily act as a co or even main event for a UFC Fight Night card.
#1. Sean O'Malley vs. Rob Font
Out of the names Sean O'Malley called out post-fight, Rob Font was the fight that he later stated he was most interested in. At surface value, it seems an utterly unrealistic fight to aim for as Font's win over Cody Garbrandt pushed him into the top five of the division.
However, the top of the bantamweight division is in a state of limbo following Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan's bizarre championship fight that ended via DQ. The fight is almost guaranteed to be rebooked. In the meantime, a number one contender fight will take place between TJ Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen.
This leaves Font in an awkward position where the best thing to do would be to stay active and compete against a big name. O'Malley is already an established name and whilst he may be ranked considerably lower than Font, a win over him would still bring considerable merit.
