Sean O’Malley has championship gold on his mind after returning to the top spot at UFC 324. However, the former bantamweight king doesn’t necessarily have the same desire to become a champion as he once did.
O’Malley, 31, remains one of the best boxers on the planet despite losing the title in September 2024. Since then, he’s faced a reality check. Not only considering his status as a competitor, but also his financial situation.
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O’Malley spoke on Monday’s edition of “The Ariel Helwani Show” and explained why he hopes to be the next in line to current champion – and his old rival – Peter Yan.
“Obviously, I want Peter Yan,” O’Malley told The Uncrowded . “The thing is, if I could make more money fighting someone else, I would want it. The money I make as a champion is substantial compared to a non-champion. I make more money as a champion. That’s what I want next. I want Petr Yan next. I want the belt. It’s a rematch, which makes it even sweeter. It was a close fight before.
“If they go to Merab [Dvalishvili versus] Peter, I’m waiting. If Merab wins, we’ll find out what happens next. If Peter wins, I want to win next. “
O’Malley has been in the industry for a full decade and knows his place. At the end of the day, he’s still a professional boxer, so what he’s after is the fight that generates the most dollar signs now that he’s on top of the mountain.
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O’Malley noted that the UFC’s new $7.7 billion deal with Paramount changes nothing for him. “Sugar” helped kick off the partnership last Saturday in the UFC 324 co-main event with a unanimous decision victory over Song Yadong. However, the former champion expects that to change as he finalizes the details of a potential new contract for his next campaign. O’Malley has two games left on his current contract and likes the direction of the promotional incentives.
“I feel like I’ll probably renegotiate before the next game,” O’Malley said. “Whether Paramount buys the UFC rights or whatever, it’s going to be worse. … The UFC has always taken good care of me, they’ve been very good to me. I’m very grateful for the platform they’ve given me, and moving to Paramount, supposedly, will be more eyeballs. So, what’s in it for me? To make the ‘Suga’ brand bigger and better, and I’m going to take advantage of that.
“But, yeah, I definitely want to see fighters’ salaries go up. I see bonuses go up, and it’s crazy. These young guys coming in now — I’ve got eight or nine bonuses, and damn, it would be great if the bonus was $100,000. These young guys are going to be able to start making money earlier… A $100,000 bonus is huge.”
In addition to the increase in purses to $100,000 for the show and the night’s fights, all fighters who finish will now receive a $25,000 bonus.
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Despite missing both fights at UFC 324, O’Malley was happy to end his first career losing streak. Back-to-back losses to now-former champion Dvalishvili put the sensational bantamweight in trouble — until Gan deposed Dvalishvili last December.
But now O’Malley is looking to maintain his renewed momentum.
“It feels good to win, but it feels worse to lose. Every time we step out there as fighters, it does feel good to win, but it feels worse to lose, which is crazy. Man, if you can finish with a win, life is good,” O’Malley said.
“I took the wins for granted. It felt like my whole career – I won, won, won, won. Just kept winning. Even as an amateur, I felt like I always won. And then the first ‘Chito’ [Marlon Vera] Failure, I wasn’t mentally defeated, I didn’t feel like I was experiencing failure at all. So these efforts to get rid of actual losses make us win [at UFC 324] Feeling much better. “
