Sean O’Malley says he is returning to the Octagon at UFC 258

UFC bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley says he will be returning to the Octagon at UFC 258, though he didn’t reveal his next opponent.

O’Malley is coming off of a devastating first-round TKO loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 252 that halted his progression up the bantamweight rankings. O’Malley was coming off of an incredible one-punch KO win over Eddie Wineland at UFC 250 and the promotion rewarded him with a high-profile spot on the UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier III card. Unfortunately for O’Malley, he suffered an ankle injury early in the fight and Vera took advantage of it as he finished O’Malley with strikes, handing him his first career loss.

Since the fight with Vera back in August, we haven’t heard much from O’Malley in regards to a comeback. But it looks like he will soon be returning to the UFC. Taking to his social media on Monday, O’Malley revealed that he will be fighting again on February 13, though he didn’t name his opponent. According to O’Malley, his fight will take place in Las Vegas. The event is expected to be titled UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns.

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Feb 13th Las Vegas. Suga Show back in action.

O’Malley (12-1) was one of the stars of the second season of Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018. He scored an epic KO win over Alfred Khashakyan that famously sent color commentators Snoop Dogg and Urijah Faber into a frenzy. UFC president Dana White then signed O’Malley to fight in the world’s top MMA promotion. In his first UFC fight, he defeated Terrion Ware by a decision and then followed it up with a decision win over Andre Soukhamthath, winning a “Fight of the Night” bonus for that performance.

Unfortunately for O’Malley, he then got into a drug-testing issue with USADA which caused him to miss two years of action. Since returning to the Octagon earlier this year, he’s 2-1 with wins over Jose Quinonez and Wineland and the loss to Vera. As far as who O’Malley fights next, the matchmakers could pair him with another top-15 opponent such as Song Yadong or perhaps could opt to rebuild him against an unranked opponent instead. Despite the loss to Vera, O’Malley is still very much a top prospect at 135lbs.

Who do you want to see Sean O’Malley fight next in the UFC?