Petr Yan impressed many observers Saturday night, including ex-rival and former UFC champion Sean O’Malley.
Despite being a big underdog, Yan (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) got a dominant win over Merab Dvalishvili (21-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC), defeating him by a unanimous decision to claim the bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 323. With the victory, Yan was able to not only win the title but also avenge a 2023 loss to Dvalishvili.
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O’Malley posted a video to his YouTube channel with his live reaction to Yan’s big upset win.
“Petr Yan looks like a f*cking assassin,” O’Malley said in awe.
O’Malley, who beat Yan by close split decision in 2022, was going crazy watching the fight. It was a wild, high-paced affair that won Fight of the Night in an event that was filled with action.
“This is the greatest bantamweight fight in history, dare I say,” O’Malley said. “God, this is just a firefight.”
O’Malley was so impressed with Yan, that he might even take a memory with him from now on.
“Merab getting slammed on his head might be my new screensaver,” O’Malley said.
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You can watch O’Malley’s reaction to Yan’s UFC 323 win in the video below:
O’Malley returns to the cage in the first numbered event of 2026, UFC 324, which is scheduled to take place Jan. 24 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He takes on top contender Song Yadong in hopes to get himself back to his winning ways. O’Malley is coming off back-to-back losses to Dvalishvili, which saw him lose his bantamweight belt and come up short in his immediate attempt to reclaim it.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean O’Malley in awe of Petr Yan’s UFC 323 upset win: ‘Holy sh*t’
