UFC 299: ‘Hands as good as any boxer’ – Michael Bisping reflects on Sean O’Malley display and who could be next

O’Malley successfully defended his bantamweight title against the man who he had lost most recently to, “Chito”, back at UFC 252.

The Ecuadorian contender TKO’d the American that night in the first round, but O’Malley exacted his revenge as the champion this time around, producing an exquisite performance.

It mightily impressed Bisping, the UFC’s first British champion.

“I don’t know if anybody beats that version of Sean O’Malley,” Bisping told TNT Sports’ UFC Review Show.

“That was a phenomenal performance. That was some of the best boxing that we’ve seen in the UFC from anybody. Those hands on display were as good as any boxer’s.

“Maybe not the long combinations, because it’s different with the threat of the takedown. In terms of one-two, delivery, technique, speed, pace, crispness… that was a thing of beauty.

“Well done to O’Malley. All the work has paid off. He looks phenomenal.”

O’Malley’s victory takes him to 18 wins in the UFC, with his previous defeat to Vera the only blotch on an otherwise hugely impressive record.

It now leaves fans desperate to know who the American’s next opponent will be.

After beating Vera, , the featherweight champion.

Topuria is fresh off knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, and the thought of a champion versus champion, cross-division match-up excited Bisping, but TNT Sports’ Nick Peet wasn’t so sure.

“It would be unbelievable [O’Malley and Topuria],” Peet said.

“There’s no reason why that fight can’t happen in 18 months’ time, or two years’ time.

“Both these guys are brand new champions in their respective weight divisions. With all due respect, there’s half a dozen guys at least that warrant an opportunity in their weight division.

“We talk about Merab Dvalishvili, who absolutely needs to be the next [opponent]. And also [for] ‘Suga Sean’, Chito is a little bit made for him; happy to stand, trying to get inside that range, unable to do so, [with O’Malley] kind of catching Chito at just the right time.

“You can’t catch Merab at the wrong time. That’s what a champion should do; he should face the best potential contender. It’s different when you’ve cleared the board and if you’re someone like Conor McGregor, a bit of a unicorn in the sport, and you can dictate what you want.

“But I am with Dana [White, UFC boss] on this one, the same goes for Islam [Makhachev], the same goes for Ilia Topuria. Clear out your own division before you start thinking about the next division. I’d like to see him [O’Malley] stick around here, face Merab.

“If he does a similar job on Merab, then my tune will absolutely change. But I think there’s a couple of guys down at bantamweight that deserve their shot before he goes anywhere.”

Bisping agreed, but could not contain his excitement at the prospect of a showdown between ‘Suga’ and ‘El Matador’.

“Merab maybe should be next,” Bisping conceded.

“The reason I say maybe is because there’s also Cory Sandhagen who would give him a great fight.

“There’s also Umar Nurmagomedov, so there’s three contenders there.

“We would love to see the huge fight – champion versus champion – that would be phenomenal.

“Merab, Sandhagen, and Nurmagomedov are all very tough tests for the Suga Show, but we’ll see what happens.”