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Ilia Topuria Advises Sean O'Malley to Defend Title Before Moving Up a Division

While Ilia Topuria is eyeing another belt before defending his featherweight title, he has advised Sean O'Malley to defend the bantamweight strap once more before making a double-champ bid.

O’Malley successfully defended his bantamweight title for the first time with a dominant unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera in the main event at UFC 299 on Saturday. Going into the fight, “Suga” had been rallying for a clash against Topuria if he defeated Vera.

O’Malley reiterated his callout in his post-fight Octagon interview while also keeping the door open for another bantamweight title defense against Merab Dvalishvili if the UFC wants to go in that direction.