Sean O’Malley has taken plenty of shots at Ilia Topuria in the past, but he’s optimistic about his rival’s future after seeing him suffer a devastating loss at UFC White House.
Topuria failed to defend his lightweight title in the June 14 main event, succumbing to interim champion Justin Gaethje’s powerful punches at the end of the fourth round. The bout was officially waved off when Topuria and his corner informed the referee that the fighter could not continue.
It was a shocking upset, even given Gaethje’s outstanding pedigree, and the facial injuries Topuria suffered in the loss could have him sidelined for the remainder of 2026. Whenever he’s ready to compete again, O’Malley expects Topuria to learn from his first defeat.
“I’m sure it is going to be humbling,” O’Malley told One Night with Steiny. “I think Ilia is going to come back better than ever. He’s young still. He was going through some personal stuff, made it out the other side of it but it’s probably still lingering around. I think he’s going to come back.
“Justin f*cking humbled him, for sure.”
O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch was also a guest on the show, and he suggested that Topuria losing his aura of invincibility could be detrimental to his future as opponents may step into the cage against him with newfound confidence.
“I also think, though, like he’s human now,” Welch said. “So anyone who fights him now, they know that’s in him, they know it’s a possibility. And a big thing even with [O’Malley] and Ilia and these guys, before the losses, [their opponents] were almost scared in there. There’s this weird aura, this scary aura, like he’s going to f*ck everyone up.
“Now that got exposed a little bit, I think he’s not going to come back as just dominating.”
O’Malley also fought at UFC White House, scoring a second-round knockout of Aiemann Zahabi to stop the Canadian bantamweight’s seven-fight win streak. With the victory, O’Malley could be in position to challenge Petr Yan and become a two-time UFC champion.
His first title win came against Aljamain Sterling, who was 23-3 at the time and coming off of three straight successful title defenses. O’Malley knocked Sterling out just 51 seconds into the second round, surprising doubters who thought Sterling’s wrestling might have been too much for him. In that sense, Gaethje dethroning Topuria gave O’Malley a familiar feeling.
“Me beating Aljo is probably similar to Gaethje beating Ilia,” O’Malley said. “Actually, me beating Aljo is probably even more of an upset I’d say. I don’t know, I guess it depends, people’s different perspectives.”
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OK, this one got me to chuckle.
Alden Coria (12-3, 1 NC) vs. Stewart Nicoll (8-3); UFC Oklahoma City, July 18
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Tommy McMillen (10-0) vs. Alberto Montes (12-1); UFC Oklahoma City, July 18
Tabatha Ricci (12-4) vs. Fatima Kline (9-1); UFC Oklahoma City, July 18
Levi Rodrigues Jr. (5-0, 1 NC) vs. Felipe Franco (10-2); UFC Oklahoma City, July 18
Allen Frye Jr. (6-1) vs. Alvin Hines (7-1); UFC Oklahoma City, July 18
Chase Hooper (16-5-1) vs. Mitch Ramirez (8-3); UFC Oklahoma City, July 18
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Count me in the Ilia Topuria believer camp. As tough as that loss was, let’s not forget Topuria almost finished Gaethje in the second round, it’s not like he was completely outclassed (maybe outsized). Go back to 145 and clear that division out. — Lee
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