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Sean O'Malley is one of two fighters in the UFC's bantamweight top ten who is without a scheduled opponent for his next bout, with Dominick Cruz being the other. Umar Nurmagomedov called out the No.1-ranked bantamweight, claiming that he is too busy focusing on his hair to take a fight. In a post shared to his Twitter account, the No.11-ranked bantamweight stated:
"Today we spoke to Sean Shelby and he said many fighters have changed their phone number and email because they tired of hearing my name, @SugaSeanMMA only guy don’t have fight but I was told he’s too busy going to the beauty salon to change his hair color. I’m coming @danawhite"
After fans accused Umar Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz of tweeting from his account, he quickly shared a selfie to prove that it was indeed him who sent out the tweet. The Russian bantamweight, who has been undefeated in his career, appears to be frustrated with the bantamweight division's top ten as they have shown an unwillingness to face him.
'Young Eagle' defeated Raoni Barcelos at UFC Fight Night 217, the first card of 2023. Sean O'Malley, meanwhile, has not entered the octagon since defeating Petr Yan via a controversial split decision at UFC 280 in October 2022. 'Sugar' appears to be awaiting the winner of the rumored title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo.
Check out Umar Nurmagomedov's tweets below:
Daniel Cormier shares prediction for Sean O'Malley's championship aspirations
Sean O'Malley recently announced that he has signed an eight-fight contract extension with the UFC. During a segment called 'Tap In or Tap Out' on his podcast DC & RC, UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier predicted that the No.1-ranked bantamweight would not become a champion during the first three fights on his contract, stating:
"I tap out because of the time frame. It's just very fast. Three more fights, that's not that long to elevate yourself to a championship. Now, he's No.1, I get it. That's why we imagine it could happen, but he's No.1 because he beat Petr Yan. He went from ten to one and many thought that he lost the Yan fight."
Cormier added that he would not be surprised if O'Malley becomes a UFC champion somewhere down the line, however, he does expect it to happen in his next three fights. 'Sugar' appears destined to fight for the belt in his next bout, making it very possible that he does become a champion. If he is unsuccessful in his attempt, however, he will likely need more than two fights to work his way back into a crowded bantamweight title picture.
Watch Daniel Cormier's comments on Sean O'Malley below (starting at the 30:55 mark):
