O'Malley On Song's KO Improving His Title Case

Sean O'Malley believes his title shot case improved without him throwing a punch.

The former UFC bantamweight champion says Song Yadong's knockout of Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Shanghai makes his own win over Song look sharper in hindsight. O'Malley took a unanimous decision over Yadong at UFC 324 in January, a fight some fans criticized as cautious. After Song knocked Nurmagomedov cold with one punch Saturday night in China, O'Malley revisited his performance on the TimboSugarShow podcast.

O'Malley Defends Yadong Performance After Shanghai KO

"After my fight with Song, people were [complaining]. But now you can look back on that fight as a sick performance," O'Malley said, per BJPenn.com. "Song is very dangerous, and I knew that going into the fight. I probably beat him the most definitively, and it was still close."

O'Malley stopped Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250 earlier this year, his second straight win since losing twice to Merab Dvalishvili. Yadong could now be in line for a bantamweight title shot after catching Nurmagomedov in the second round at UFC Shanghai, ending the Dagestani's unbeaten run. O'Malley says his January win deserves a second look from fight fans who questioned the measured pace at the time.

A rematch between O'Malley and Yadong remains possible if both stay near the top of the bantamweight rankings.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Sean O’Malley claims Song Yadong’s KO improves his own title shot case