Team Sean O’Malley Puts Daniel Cormier on Blast for ‘Biased’ Post-Fight Interview of Petr Yan

Sean O'Malley and his coach were upset about how Daniel Cormier conducted the octagon interview with Petr Yan.

Team Sean O’Malley Puts Daniel Cormier on Blast for ‘Biased’ Post-Fight Interview of Petr Yan

Team Sean O'Malley upset with Daniel Cormier after Petr Yan's win at UFC 333 (Image via UFC X Account/ESPN)

Petr Yan survived the early pressure from Merab Dvalishvili to earn a hard-fought unanimous decision win at UFC 333. Soon after, the octagon interview from Daniel Cormier became a topic of discussion due to the omission of Sean O’Malley’s name and the inclusion of Song Yadong.

When Cormier interviewed Yan after his win, the former heavyweight champion mentioned Yadong’s name as a next possible title challenger. O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, took offense to how ‘DC’ handled the octagon interview.

In the beginning of 2026, O’Malley fought and bested Yadong in a three-round fight. As such, many think that ‘Suga Show’ is next for the champion due to his win over Yadong. This is why Welch got offended by Cormier’s suggestion to Petr Yan about the Chinese star.

I don’t know why DC went in there and said, ‘Hey, Song Yadong, you’re next,’ even though Sean beat him about six months ago. I don’t know if he’s always had it out for Sean, but there’s always been a little something. He makes these little comments. Maybe he doesn’t like the tattoos, or he doesn’t like that Sean didn’t wrestle in the past.

Tim Welch via his YouTube Channel

Daniel Cormier is a close friend of Khabib and Umar Nurmagomedov. Umar and ‘Suga’ are rivals in the bantamweight division. As such, there is a complicated feeling between the two teams. That could be what Welch referred to on his YouTube channel.

‘Suga’ also had a similar reaction to his coach. The former UFC bantamweight champion couldn’t believe what ‘DC’ was doing. Check out his reaction below:

Sean O’Malley also offered Yadong the title shot if Dvalishvili won at UFC 333. However, that didn’t happen as the Georgian fighter lost the trilogy bout. As such, ‘Suga’ wants his long-awaited rematch against Yan after besting him in their first fight.

Even Yan admitted that Yadong was the deserving contender to fight for the title next. At the same time, the champion felt that the promotion would decide his next contender and he was ready for whomever the UFC picked.

O’Malley defeated Yadong in January and followed it up with a brutal knockout win over Aiemann Zahabi at UFC Freedom 250. Meanwhile, Yadong lost to O’Malley in January, and proceeded to finish Deiveson Figueiredo and Umar Nurmagomedov in back-to-back fights.

Both fighters deserve to become the next title contender, but the UFC can only pick one at the moment. Considering the star power of O’Malley, the Chinese star may have to wait a while for his shot.

RELATED
Popular Ex-UFC Star Goes Off on ‘Potato Head’ Daniel Cormier for Constantly Defending Nurmagomedov Family

Tim Welch says Sean O’Malley while Dana White is thinking about the possibility

With all that said, Welch maintained that ‘Suga Show’ was next for the bantamweight champion. Their first fight had back-and-forth action and O’Malley won it on the judges’ scorecards.

Dana White is thinking about Petr Yan vs Sean O'Malley rematch
Dana White is thinking about Petr Yan vs Sean O’Malley rematch (Image via UFC X Account/Instagram)

At the same time, there were many people who thought Yan did enough to secure victory back at UFC 280. This is why a rematch absolutely needs to happen and Welch felt that it was meant to be on his YouTube channel.

[Sean O’Malley] is hungry, he’s excited, and it’s meant to be. Suga Show vs. Petr Yan 2 is going to be a massive fight. It’s time to level up. It’s time to get into the best shape of our lives and put on a 25-minute masterpiece against Petr Yan.

Tim Welch via his YouTube Channel

On the other hand, UFC CEO Dana White has not decided on who will face Yan for the title next year. He called O’Malley and Yadong as good options to pick from.

The Russian champion is unlikely to compete again this year. As such, his return will likely happen in the first or second quarter of 2026.

O’Malley also received a callout from rising star Payton Talbott. ‘Suga’ overlooked that callout in favor of rematching Petr Yan for the title. Now, the ball is in UFC’s court to put on the biggest matchup as the next bantamweight title fight.

Also Read: