​WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 14: Sean O’Malley reacts to his win in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn at the White House on June 14, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Sean O’Malley is back on a win streak, one that could vault him back to the top of the all-time great list at 135 pounds when it’s all said and done.It’s been two years since O’Malley had UFC gold around his waist, with his bantamweight reign ending at the hands of Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306. An immediate rematch ended with Dvalishvili scoring a dominant submission win over O’Malley, knocking “Suga” out of the title picture for the foreseeable future.O’Malley has bounced back with consecutive victories over Song Yadong and Aiemann Zahabi, the latter taking place at the massive UFC White House event, and if he can become champion again he’d like to have his seat at the table in GOAT conversations.“It’s always hard to say who’s the GOAT, who’s this, who’s that?” O’Malley said in a UFC on Paramount+ interview. “Looking back on my career, it’s like Aljamain Sterling was the GOAT until I knocked him out. And now Petr Yan can be considered the GOAT, I beat him. So it’s hard to say. Merab’s up there. Defended the belt three times. It’s hard to say who’s the GOAT.“After it’s all said and done I’d like to consider myself the GOAT. I think Petr goes out there and beats Merab, I go out there and get a clear, decisive victory over Petr Yan, that’s two huge wins over two of the best, two out of the three. If Petr, Aljo, and Merab are the three GOATS in conversation, and I’ve beat two of them. I do want to get that Merab fight back someday, but it has to make sense timing-wise. It’s hard to say. It’s up for opinion. In my opinion, who’s the bantamweight GOAT? I guess we’ll get to find out Oct. 24 and go from there.”Oct. 24 is the date Yan and Dvalishvili clash for a third time, with their matchup serving as the co-main event of UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. O’Malley defeated Yan in a hotly contested fight in 2022, and he knows Yan winning his series over Dvalishvili presents the best chance for him to be booked in a title fight, since Dvalishvili has already beaten O’Malley twice.The MMA math needs to add up in O’Malley’s favor, and overall he still likes his chances.“I’m 31,” O’Malley said. “I’ll be 32 in October. Just really trying to maximize my potential. I feel like I did a really good job in my 20s. Not regretting anything in my 20s, I was able to focus, do what I needed to do in my 20s. And I want to do that in my 30s. I want to be able to be as active as possible, as long as the body holds up. I feel like I have a lot more to give back to this game.“It’s interesting, the come-up, you’re motivated and then you get to a certain spot and then you realize you can really achieve greatness, so I feel like I have a second motivation now is to achieve real grea