Aiemann Zahabi feels he got the opportunity of a lifetime with his next UFC bout.
Zahabi (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), a top contender in the UFC’s bantamweight division, was matched up with former champion and UFC star Sean O’Malley (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) for the highly talked bout UFC Freedom 250 – the event set to go down June 14 on the South Lawn of the White House. Zahabi, who despite proving to be one of the best at 135 pounds, hasn’t been able to become a popular name in the division, sees this bout as a perfect opportunity to become a star in the fight game.
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“Definitely, and that’s what’s so great about the White House,” Zahabi told UFC on Paramount+. “After this, nobody can tell me, ‘Who is this guy? Who is this guy?’ Every time I tweet something or post something on Instagram, the fans always end up coming to tell me, so that’s nice. Also, another perk of fighting a guy like Sean O’Malley, it puts you more on the map. The first time I felt that was when I fought Jose Aldo in Montreal. He’s got like nine million followers on Instagram, and it really brought a lot of attention to the fight, and with Marlon (Vera), same thing. It’s nice to be put against these big names, and it gives me more of a chance to get in front of the mainstream fans more often.”
Zahabi is currently on a tear in the weight class. He’s on a seven-fight unbeaten streak, with his two most recent wins being over former UFC title challenger ‘Chito’ Vera and former UFC champion Jose Aldo. Despite the impressive run, Zahabi thinks he’ll have to do something special against O’Malley for him to get the next shot at the belt.
“The thing about the UFC is that it is very merit-based in a lot of ways,” Zahabi said. “It’s not just about winning the fight, it’s about winning the fight in impressive ways. One of the reasons why Hunter called me to fight Sean O’Malley because I didn’t shoot on Pedro Munhoz, I struck with him for 15 minutes. I struck with Aldo for 15 minutes, and I struck with Marlon for 15 minutes. I beat these big names in the right way, in the way the UFC likes to see happen. I feel like if I do that again with Sean O’Malley, I can get the title fight. But if I go out there and make it a boring fight, they’re just going to skip right over me.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Aiemann Zahabi sees UFC White House as chance to become household name
