Overview
- Sandhagen, in comments published Thursday, said O’Malley should have told UFC matchmakers to book their fight because fans wanted it.
- He added that the UFC briefly offered him rising contender Payton Talbott, which he accepted before the promotion changed plans.
- O’Malley is instead scheduled to face Aiemann Zahabi on June 14 on the White House South Lawn, in the third bout on a six-fight card headlined by Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje.
- Earlier this week, O’Malley said the White House slot does not feel as big as his past title fights and he joked about dropping from main event to the third fight.
- O’Malley also posted an April Fool’s video falsely claiming the Zahabi bout was for an interim title, showing how social media banter is shaping expectations for the event.