Sean O’Malley has a warning for anyone signing a UFC contract with dollar signs in their eyes. MMA Mania posted on X Tuesday that O’Malley says not to come to the UFC to get rich, quoting him directly: “It’s not gonna happen.”
MMA Sucka framed the comments as advice for fighters who want to get rich fighting in the UFC, and placed them squarely inside the ongoing Sean Strickland pay dispute. Neither source spells out the specifics of what Strickland is disputing, so I won’t pretend to know them. The timing still matters. When a two-time middleweight champion is publicly fighting over money and one of the most marketable bantamweights on the roster says the purse won’t make you wealthy, prospects should probably take notes.
O’Malley (20-3) sits at No. 3 in the Knockout Daily bantamweight rankings. His last fight was June 14, 2026, and by his own account he beat Song Yadong roughly six months ago. Strickland (31-7) is No. 1 at middleweight in our rankings, last competed May 9, 2026, and is a two-time UFC middleweight champion.
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The money talk lands during a loud week for O’Malley. Petr Yan won at UFC 333 on Saturday, and O’Malley wasted no time making himself the obvious next name. In a clip shared by Championship Rounds, he told Yan, “Petr Yan! You’re out there celebrating your victory. I’m training, in the rain.” He was less playful with Daniel Cormier, who brought up Song as a title contender in the post-fight interview. “DC, I don’t know what he’s thinking. I beat Song like 6 months ago. I should be next for the title, I don’t care,” O’Malley said, in a clip posted by Dovy.
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Ariel Helwani backed him on X, calling O’Malley the fight to make for Yan “without question.” Helwani pointed out that both men hold wins over Song and that Yan carries a controversial loss to O’Malley from their first meeting. I’ll admit a soft spot for that argument. Rematches of disputed decisions are the closest thing this sport has to an appeals court, and the judges in that first fight gave everyone plenty to appeal.
Which brings the pay comments full circle. O’Malley is telling up-and-comers the purse alone won’t build wealth while openly campaigning for the one kind of fight that actually moves the needle financially: a title rematch with history attached. If the UFC books Yan vs. O’Malley 2, the biggest bantamweight fight available will be headlined by a guy who just told the next generation not to count on the check.
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