Which UFC Bantamweight Fighter Deserves the Next Title Shot?

Since Petr Yan’s dominant victory against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323 this past December, there has been lots of speculation surrounding the champ’s next opponent. In his unanimous win, Yan put on a striking and wrestling masterclass. He seemed to do the impossible by taking down the previous champ five times, while dealing all kinds of damage to the Georgian fighter’s midsection. There was even a clear indication of severe anguish by Dvalishvili during the title fight, where he screamed out in pain after a brutal body kick by Yan. With the momentum shifting towards the newly awarded champion, who is next to fight Yan for the belt?

The obvious answer here would be a rematch against Dvalishvili. ‘The Machine’ was on a tear during his title reign, completely in command of his four championship fights by controlling his opponents on the ground for a majority of the time. He was also quite active as a champion, more so than other champions on the roster, having fought for the belt five times in a 15-month span. There is no doubt that Merab was a worthy champion, but does anyone else in the division deserve the next title shot over him?

Knowing the UFC’s desire for pure entertainment, they could push for the previous Bantamweight champ, Sean O’Malley, to fight Yan for the belt next. ‘Suga’ previously beat Yan in a surprising split decision at UFC 280 back in late 2022, which would then propel him towards becoming champ. O’Malley’s most recent victory against Song Yadong puts him in heavy conversation for another title shot. There’s also the case of Umar Nurmagomedov, also coming off a recent victory against Deiveson Figueirido, who only has one loss to his name and has a similar fighting style to Yan, being a multifaceted fighter in stand-up and on the ground. Cory Sandhagen has also tried to make a case for himself recently across the media, reminding everyone of he and Yan’s action-packed fight back at UFC 267. Nevertheless, whoever is next to face Yan has a good reason for doing so. The champ still looks to dominate anyone that he’s put up against.