Sean O'Malley scoffs at Alexandre Pantoja claiming he “smashed” the bantamweight champion in training years ago

Sean O'Malley and Alexandre Pantoja have recently gone back and forth online about the outcome of a sparring session they had many years ago.

According to the Brazilian, he and 'Sugar' trained together before Pantoja's first UFC fight, which took place in 2017. The flyweight champion has previously stated that footage of their sparring session exists but that O'Malley refuses to share the video.

During a recent interview ahead of his UFC 301 title clash with Steve Erceg, 'The Cannibal' once again discussed the infamous training session.

The bantamweight champion came across a video on X of Pantoja discussing the training session and dismissed the 125-pound champion's description of events, writing this:

""Twas a first-round TKO."

See Sean O'Malley's post below:

With the increasing regularity of UFC champions searching for titles in a second division, the back and forth between O'Malley and Pantoja could give the promotion the perfect platform for the next "Champion vs. Champion" matchup.

That is, of course, only if 'The Cannibal' is able to defeat surging contender Steve Erceg. The Australian holds a 3-0 record in the promotion and secured performance bonuses in two of the three wins.

Despite being ranked at No.10 in the division, Erceg should provide the champion with a stiff test, as 'AstroBoy' has a well-rounded martial arts game with particularly sharp striking.

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Sean O'Malley discusses the main hold-up behind booking his Merab Dvalishvili fight

Sean O'Malley's next opponent has been all but decided, with perennial contender Merab Dvalishvili seemingly the next man up.

Dvalishvili has been a title contender since his longtime friend and teammate, Aljamain Sterling, held the bantamweight title. But given their close bond, the pair both declined to fight one another.

However, following Sterling's move to featherweight after losing his title to O'Malley at UFC 292, the Georgian is back in the title frame.

Both 'The Machine' and O'Malley have both shared their interest in the fight and during a recent episode of the TimboSugarShow, the bantamweight champion discussed the main issue regarding finalizing the bout.

He said this:

"I'm trying to book it. I'm trying to get it booked asap. The only issue is that some of the next pay-per-views aren't in the country. And I'm not fighting out of the country. Not necessarily 'cause I don't want to... But I'm ready to go."

Watch Sean O'Malley's comments below from 51:45: