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Dana White recently revealed how Petr Yan vs. Sean O'Malley was finalized by the UFC.
The massive bantamweight clash between Yan and O'Malley is set to go down at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. White stated that the UFC's matchmaker Sean Shelby proposed the idea of matching up the No. 13 ranked 'Sugar' against the No.1 ranked 'No Mercy'.
While not very amused at the idea initially, the UFC president eventually decided to give his green signal for the fight to be finalized. Here's what White stated while talking to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports:
"O'Malley's ready. O'Malley wants to take a big jump and he's reaady for the fight. We started going through this thing, we started looking, 'Who's fighting, who's hurt, who's this, who's that'. It's actually Sean said, 'I wanna do O'malley vs. Petr Yan'."
White further added that both Yan and O'Malley were interested in the fight and he believes it will be a fun fight. Here's what the 53-year-old added:
"Everybody was giving their opinion, we went back-and-forth and finally I said, 'Okay, we'll do it'. And O'Malley really wanted the fight. And Yan was like,' Yeah, let's do it'. And, it will be fun."
Watch Dana White talk about Petr Yan vs. Sean O'Malley:
Yan lost a decision in his last fight, at UFC 273 against Aljamain Sterling. O'Malley, meanwhile. had his latest fight against Pedro Munhoz called off as a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke.
Sean O'Malley will face the toughest test of his career against Petr Yan
Sean O'Malley has faced a top-10 UFC fighter only once in his career. Pedro Munhoz is the only bantamweight ranked in the top-10 who fought 'Sugar'. That fight ended in an anti-climactic way.
Yan, meanwhile, is one of the best bantamweights in the world and has an impressive resume. He is a former undisputed and interim champion of the division.
Petr Yan has excellent striking power and sniper-like accuracy. However, O'Malley is a superb stand-up fighter in his own way.
Hence, fans can expect an entertaining affair when the duo eventually collide at UFC 280 in October. The bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw will also take place on that card.
