Joe Rogan wants Payton Talbott vs. Sean O’Malley. Heavy ran it Friday under a headline saying Rogan is stumping for the fight, and I’m signing the petition before Saturday’s bantamweight title fight even happens.
Look at the timing. UFC 333 goes down Saturday, Oct. 24, at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, with Petr Yan defending the belt against Merab Dvalishvili in their trilogy underneath Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev. O’Malley has spent fight week turning himself into the third guy in a two-man fight. On Oct. 21 he posted “PETE VS MORAB WHO YOU GOT AT UFC 333?” on X like he was hosting a watch party. That same day, Championship Rounds shared a clip of him going straight at the champ: “PETR YAN! You better hope you don’t win this weekend buddy, because if you do you gotta fight me. You don’t want that.”
I love it. Give me a guy who talks like he owns the division every single time. The problem is that Yan isn’t playing along, and he came with the best line of the week. Yan told MMA Fighting that Song Yadong is “more deserving” of a title shot than O’Malley, then added: “They raised this chicken to lay eggs for so long, and now they’re trying to squeeze as many eggs out as possible.” A man doesn’t come up with a poultry metaphor that specific unless he’s been stewing on it in the sauna for weeks.
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The line is real, and O’Malley isn’t first in it
Pull up the Meta Rankings MMA Mania published Tuesday. Yan is champion. Dvalishvili is No. 1, Song is No. 2, O’Malley is No. 3. Talbott sits at No. 10, behind names like Umar Nurmagomedov, Cory Sandhagen and Raul Rosas Jr.
O’Malley’s best argument for jumping Song is the history with Yan, and that history is ugly for him. O’Malley won their fight by split decision, but a Sherdog column this week pointed out that only one of the 26 media scorers listed by MMA Decisions had it for O’Malley. That’s exactly why a rematch has juice. The same columnist figured Yan vs. O’Malley 2 is a plausible next step if Yan keeps the belt, given how popular O’Malley is and how much the UFC seems to enjoy promoting him.
I get the business math. I also hate when a promotion treats the fan base like an ATM, and running back a fight most of the media thought O’Malley lost, while the No. 2 guy waits, is Yan’s chicken getting squeezed one more time.
Tim Welch, posting on X, offered the other side: “Sugs style is alot more tricky for Pete, it makes sense why he would prefer Song.” Fair take. But that cuts both ways. If O’Malley’s style is that much of a problem, he can prove it against a ranked guy hungry enough to take his head off, then walk back to the title picture with zero asterisks.
Why Talbott is the right name
The purist complaint writes itself: No. 3 fighting No. 10 is punching down. Normally I’d agree. Here the gap is the selling point.
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Talbott gets the biggest fight of his career and a shot at a name that moves needles. That same Sherdog piece grouped O’Malley with Max Holloway as fighters who command attention in a way the UFC 333 title fighters don’t, so O’Malley’s name sells the card and Talbott’s upside makes it dangerous. O’Malley gets a fight where he’s the established star defending his spot, which is a role he’s always played well on the mic. And the title line stays clean. Song gets his turn, the Yan vs. Dvalishvili winner gets a real contender, and O’Malley stays busy instead of sitting in a hot tub tweeting predictions for six months.
There’s also the villain factor. O’Malley is at his best when someone is trying to take something from him. Make him earn the rematch against a young contender that Joe Rogan personally co-signed, and now every fan who thinks O’Malley got gifted the Yan decision has a reason to tune in hoping to see him get got. That’s how you build a pay-per-view headliner the honest way.
Calling your shot is great. Calling your shot from No. 3 while the champ says No. 2 deserves it more is a little rich. Beat Talbott, and O’Malley’s callout turns into a demand nobody can argue with.
Yan and Dvalishvili settle the belt Saturday night on Paramount+. Whoever leaves Abu Dhabi with it, the UFC should have O’Malley vs. Talbott paperwork on the desk Monday morning.
