A bantamweight matchup between Sean O’Malley and Louis Smolka is in the works for UFC 264.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans told MMA Fighting O’Malley and Smolka have verbally agreed to meet, though contracts have not yet been signed. Journalist Ryan Frederick was first to report the news.
UFC 264 takes place July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The ESPN+ pay-per-view event is headlined by a rubber match between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.
O’Malley returns to the octagon after a highlight-reel knockout of Thomas Almeida at UFC 260, which put him back in the win column after an ankle injury preceded a TKO loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 252.