Exclusive: Aiemann Zahabi Calls Out Sean O’Malley After Split-Decision Win and Says Title Shot Is in Reach

UFC bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi shared his thoughts on his latest win over Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC Vancouver and setting his sights on former champion Sean O’Malley. 

Zahabi vowed to continue inching closer to a potential title shot, believing that a victory over a former champion could cement his status.

In an exclusive conversation, produced in collaboration with The Game Plan, Zahabi opened up about fighting on home soil and provided an update on his injury status following the hard-fought split decision win. 

For Zahabi, fighting in Canada comes with positives and negatives. He admitted that he doesn’t experience added pressure, but noted that it carries the risk of suffering an embarrassing loss.

“Where [the fight takes place] doesn’t make any difference for me in terms of nerves because we don’t know if the outcome is going to be good or bad until the fight is over,” Zahabi told SportsBoom.com.

“It may be the best night of my life, but it can also be the most embarrassing night of my life.” 

“Things happen in there that are out of your control,” he explained.

Despite a challenging second round, Zahabi was confident he did enough to secure the win once the fight went to the judges.

“I didn’t think the fight was close because I felt very confident that I won the first [round], I had no doubt.”

“The second round, I had no doubt that I lost it. So then I knew it was all up to the third round.”

“I proved to everybody that I’m a monster in round three and my hunger really shows out in the third and I’m willing to go take it if I have to.” 

“I feel like [Vera] didn’t press on the gas as much as I did in the third, so I felt very comfortable going to the judges’ scorecard,” he added.  

POST-FIGHT CALL OUT FOR SEAN O’MALLEY

Following his win, Zahabi wasted no time calling out former champion Sean O’Malley, who currently sits at No. 1 in the bantamweight rankings despite back-to-back title losses to current champion Merab Dvalishvili. 

“I didn’t hear anything back yet except that  [O’Malley] reacted to it, so that’s great,” Zahabi said. 

The Canadian pointed out that O’Malley’s last win came against Vera, making their potential matchup a logical next step.

“The last guy [O’Malley] beat was Marlon [Vera]. When Marlon fought him for the belt, he was ranked six.”

“I’m ranked seven and O’Malley is ranked one, it’s the same difference. I know a lot of people think it’s crazy, but it’s not unheard of for that kind of jump.”

Zahabi also credited Umar Nurmagomedov for validating his callout and reinforcing his position in the division. 

“Umar wins, becomes number-one contender, and he calls me out for a title eliminator.” 

“I’m in the mix, my call out made sense. I like that Umar called me out because it just made my call out of Sean O’Malley legitimacy,” he said. 

“Now people are going to realize that I’m one fight away from a belt.” 

INJURY UPDATE

Although Zahabi walked away victorious at UFC Vancouver, he didn’t leave the fight unscathed. He suffered an arm injury that required surgery but emphasized that it was only a minor setback. 

“I messaged my doctor after the fight when I got back to my hotel and said I thought my arm’s broken, I might need surgery.” 

Zahabi revealed that he underwent the procedure the following Monday and expects to return to training soon.

“I’m just waiting to be healed enough to get back to training,” Zahabi said. 

“It shouldn’t be too long, I should be getting into the swing of things before the new year, so I’m hoping it’s not too bad.”

“My first check-up this week and it went really good. Everything is going according to plan,” he concluded.