Aiemann Zahabi has already begun studying footage of Sean O’Malley ahead of their looming Summer clash, but it took on a bit of a humorous angle. While Zahabi and O’Malley will clash under MMA rules at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14th at the White House, the former posted a video assessing the latter’s skills within another sport altogether.
The Canadian combatant posted this to his personal X account, and Zahabi broke down the former UFC bantamweight champion’s chops on the basketball court. Footage of O’Malley playing basketball with popular online streamer Neon, with the number six contender at bantamweight applauding not just the defensive effectiveness but also the offensive prowess of ‘Suga’ on the court.
Zahabi credited him as ‘a baller’ with his off-camera videographer quipping about how O’Malley wants to ‘1 v. 1 him’ on the basketball court. To this comment, Zahabi stated,
“We’re gonna 1 v. 1, June 14th, man.”
Aiemann Zahabi reacts to the Sean O’Malley bout announcement
Aiemann Zahabi put out public feelers to get this Sean O’Malley fight for a little while now and was quick to offer up his thoughts publicly when the Summer contest was made official. The mixed martial artist from the Great Fight North will travel to Washington, DC, for an event tied to the 250 years of independence in America. Also, this UFC White House bout could seemingly serve Zahabi’s goals of vaulting toward a long sought-after 135-pound title shot thereafter.
Speaking to a network that he does analyst work for and giving his initial reaction to the Sean O’Malley bout announcement, as Zahabi stated [via Sportsnet],
“I feel like they were very ‘hush hush’ about this card, so they called on Wednesday asking if I would be interested in fighting Sean O’Malley at the White House. So I said, ‘Yes, of course I’m interested.’ It’s a huge opportunity… It’s also a title eliminator, so it’s fantastic news for me, but I wasn’t sure if it was official because they said they have a couple options for the card.”
“They were keeping everyone guessing, so I literally found out [Saturday night] while watching [UFC 326]. I was watching with my daughters and my wife and we celebrated, so I’m really on a high still from that.”