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Javid Basharat believes he and Sean O'Malley are destined to meet inside the octagon someday. 'The Snow Leopard' is scheduled to make his octagon debut this weekend at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev.
According to Basharat, a matchup between him and O'Malley is inevitable, even though it might sound far-fetched at the moment. Basharat told James Lynch in an exclusive interview for Sportskeeda:
"100%, me and [Sean] O'Malley will meet somewhere down the line. Now it's looking a little bit unrealistic because he is a top ten/ top fifteen guy. If he loses, he's out of the ranking again. I'm your boy, I'll be down to fight him anytime. But at the same time I do believe in the future we'll definitely meet."
Watch our exclusive interview with Javid Basharat below:
Basharat also revealed that he won't be targeting top-ranked bantamweights like Marlon Moraes and Song Yadong just yet. While he isn't lacking in preparation, the 26-year-old believes it'll be delusional to chase a ranked fighter immediately.
Javid Basharat earned his UFC contract with a win over Oron Kahlon on The Dana White Contender Series in October last year. Enraged by racist slurs from his opponent, Basharat punished the Israeli fighter for two rounds before locking in a guillotine to win the fight in round three.
The 26-year old currently holds a perfect 11-0 record with all of his wins coming via stoppage.
"To even mention Conor's name is pretty ridiculous" - Javid Basharat says Islam Makhachev deserves the next lightweight title shot
Dana White recently announced that Islam Makhachev will have to go through Beneil Dariush to earn a lightweight title shot. The UFC boss also did not dismiss the idea of number-nine-ranked Conor McGregor getting a title shot on his return to the octagon.
Javid Basharat was asked to weigh in on the UFC lightweight title picture during his interview with Sportskeeda. Although managed by the same team as 'The Notorious', Basharat revealed that his loyalties have always been with team Nurmagomedov.
The Afghan fighter believes it is ridiculous to even mention McGregor's name in title talks. Basharat further told James Lynch:
"What Conor [McGregor]. I'm team Islam [Makhachev] all day, I was team Khabib [Nurmagomedov] even before... Islam for me, he should be the guy to get the title shot next. To even mention Conor's name is pretty ridiculous. But again I can't hate on Conor too much either because, go make your money, go do your thing. And Conor's a good fighter, not anymore, but once upon a time he was a good fighter."
