One of Sean O’Malley’s UFC rivals, Petr Yan, accused the recently dethroned champion of being pregnant amid his absence from the Octagon.
Not long after getting dominated by Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306, O’Malley announced that he was taking time away due to a torn labrum which would keep him sidelined for 9 to 12 months.
Following his UFC Macau victory on November 23, Yan appeared on the Ariel Helwani Show on Tuesday and delivered a clever jab toward his familiar foe. Yan, who soundly defeated Deivison Figueiredo last month, made the joke while discussing a rematch with O’Malley.
‘You know, is this going to happen? I would lean towards a rematch with Sean O’Malley, but I don’t know,’ Yan said.
‘What’s going on with him? He’s out for 9 to 12 months, so maybe he got pregnant,’ he added.
Petr Yan accused Sean O’Malley of being ‘pregnant’ amid his nine-month absence from the cage
The Russian kept the jokes coming after the interview on social media. Reposting the clip from Helwani’s program, Yan asked O’Malley about his due date and tagged him in the caption.
Not one to back down from a verbal spar, O’Malley ran with the gag as he got the last laugh in the exchange.
‘I predict it will be early Q2. Against Merab. Thanks for asking,’ Suga replied, hinting at a rematch with Dvalishvili on his return to the cage.
Yan became the first true test to O’Malley on his way to the UFC bantamweight title when they squared off in 2022. While American knockout artist emerged victorious, the split decision divided the fanbase due to the close nature of the fight.
From there, O’Malley won the title by knocking out Aljamain Sterling – who beat Yan for the crown in 2021 – and defended it against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera before dropping it to Dvalishvili.
O’Malley beat Yan via split decision before knocking Aljamain Sterling out to win the title in 2023
On the other hand, Yan suffered his third straight loss to Dvalishvili after dropping bouts to Sterling and O’Malley before scoring two wins in 2024. No Mercy scored decisions over Song Yadong and Figueiredo to return to the win column.
O’Malley remains the No 1 contender in the bantamweight division and No 13 in the pound-for-pound rankings with an 18-2 record.
Meanwhile, Yan sits behind his countryman Umar Nurmagomedov at third in the 135-lb rankings at 18-5.