Former champion Sean O’Malley believes that Petr Yan’s successful bantamweight title defense against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333 has now paved the way for him to get the next shot at the title.

After the event the No.2 ranked Song Yadong was pitched as one potential opponent for Yan next, but given that he already beat him earlier this year and also holds a split-decision win over Yan too, the No.3 ranked O’Malley is confident he’ll be next in line.

“Petr beat Song when I was defending my title in Miami, so Petr already beat Song, I already beat Song,” O’Malley told Daniel Cormier. “I don’t really think it’s a debate or an argument.

“Song was in the building [at UFC 333]; they’re in your ear, it makes sense. I’m not there. Song’s there. I don’t really feel like I have to push for it or argue for it or try to do anything crazy for it. Me versus Petr is happening next. It just is. I refuse to believe otherwise.”

Yan’s impressive back-to-back wins over Dvalishvili mean his stock is very high right now, and with O’Malley already having star power and coming a couple of solid victories, the 32-year-old believes this rematch could be a big draw for the promotion.

“Hands down it will be [the biggest bantamweight fight of all time],” O’Malley said. “I don’t think of Petr Yan as a superstar. He’s not going to walk down the street and get mobbed. In the MMA community, he’s one of the most respected fighters, and I think the promotion will really get to the wider audience. We’re not going to be the co-main event. We’re going to be the main event. It’s going to be a massive card.

“I think me versus Chito [Vera], number-wise, was the biggest bantamweight fight of all-time as of now, but I do think me  versus Petr is going to be bigger.”