Sean O’Malley offers dim forecast for fellow UFC champion Ilia Topuria: “Gonna be the next Cody Garbrandt”

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has given his thoughts on the future of fellow champ Ilia Topuria.

As we know, Sean O’Malley is one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts. He’s also the king of the bantamweight division, which is home to some of the best fighters in the sport. Alas, while he’s enjoying his time at 135 pounds, it makes sense that he’d tease the idea of a shift up to featherweight in the future due to his size.

RELATED: Sean O’Malley vents frustration over the current UFC pound-for-pound rankings: “How’s Ilia higher?”

If he does make the move to 145, Ilia Topuria will be there waiting for him. Both men have already carved out incredible legacies for themselves at the elite level, and it feels like they’re only just getting started.

Following a recent interaction between them regarding the P4P rankings, O’Malley had the following to say about Topuria.

Sean O'Malley on Ilia Topuria:

"Ilia's gonna be the next Cody Garbrandt… He had his little Dominick Cruz performance, he's about to get pieced up by Max Holloway and then go downhill from there.

Not really, I feel like Ilia's one of the most skilled guys actually in the UFC.… pic.twitter.com/5NZAeREpOk

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 8, 2024

O’Malley goes after Topuria

“Ilia, yeah I tweeted ‘how the f*** is Ilia above me on the pound-for-pound, he’s five inches shorter and has less title defenses’. Those are just facts. I wasn’t trying to be funny, I was stating facts. I got a lot of hate for it, people saying ‘bro, he should be, he beat Volk’. Buddy, I really couldn’t give a f*** less where I am on the pound-for-pound.

“Ilia is gonna be the next Cody Garbrandt. He won his nice little fight, he had his little Dominick Cruz performance. He’s about to get pieced up by Max Holloway, and then it’ll go downhill from there.

“Not really – I feel like Ilia is one of the most skilled guys actually in the UFC, but f*** Ilia.”

Will we ever see these two men square off? If so, who would be your favorite to win? Let us know, BJPENN Nation!