Sean O’Malley wore a COVID-19 mask during a recent faceoff with his Chinese opponent Song Yadong, and the latter has since responded to the gesture. The former UFC bantamweight champion squared up to Yadong as part of the faceoffs at the seasonal press conference leading into UFC 323 to promote their clash at UFC 324.
In what was a relatively subdued press conference effort from someone in O’Malley who has been seen as one of the more charismatic stars in this current age, it seemed like the big play ‘Suga’ had prepared, which some onlookers saw as racist considering the Wuhan, China, connectivity to COVID-19.
During an interview with Helen Yee Sports, the surging 135-pound contender addressed that faceoff moment with O’Malley, as Yadong said,
“I didn’t expect that, but after the faceoff I realized he wore a mask. In that moment I thought he was really sick or something, but I was too sleepy, I didn’t know what happened. When I realized, I just felt, ‘This guy…’ and I posted on Twitter, everybody saw that. Right now he’s got two losses, and he’s more humble now. He’s not like before. He’s not that happy.”
“He asked me, ‘Are you nervous?’ I’m not nervous. I asked him, ‘Why do you wear a mask? Are you sick? Are you sick?’ He didn’t respond.”
Song Yadong and his proximity to a title shot
Song Yadong is number five in the weight division and could easily vault himself toward a title shot depending on the quality of performance he’ll have coming up against Sean O’Malley. The landscape at bantamweight has shifted in a pretty pronounced way with Petr Yan regaining gold by besting Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323 in a rematch that tied up their series with each other at one win apiece.
With this change in who is sitting on the UFC’s 135-pound throne, it opens up a wide range of matchmaking possibilities that were not previously entertained, and a strong win over someone like Sean O’Malley, which has authored a win over Petr Yan, could do wonders for Song Yadong’s own title shot aspirations in 2026.