Petr Yan says Sean O’Malley will be his corner at UFC 273.
Recently, it was reported by Russian outlet, TASS that Yan’s corner’s visas were denied by the U.S. government. With that, Yan took to social media to ask Henry Cejudo if he would corner him for his bantamweight title fight rematch against Alajmain Sterling.
Hey coach @HenryCejudo what are your plans on April 9th? https://t.co/FPVJvT1tvW
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) March 17, 2022
“Hey coach @HenryCejudo what are your plans on April 9th?,” Yan wrote.
After hearing about the news and seeing Yan’s tweet, O’Malley said on his Twitch stream he would corner the Russian.
One corner spot is taken by @SugaSeanMMA 🐩 pic.twitter.com/rW5bJNRZIt
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) March 17, 2022
“Petr, heard you need a corner, bro. Let me know, I’ll be in Vegas or wherever the f**k your fights at, let me know and I’ll corner you, one-two, one-two,” O’Malley said.
After hearing Sean O’Malley’s request, Petr Yan Then, took to Twitter to announce ‘Suga’ will be one of his cornermen.
“One corner spot is taken by @SugaSeanMMA,” Yan tweeted.
Whether or not Yan is being serious is uncertain, as there is a chance his corner will end up being there in Jacksonville on April 9. But, if it is true it will be funny to see O’Malley in his corner given they have trash-talked one another before. O’Malley has also said his dream fight is Yan so perhaps he goes from cornering him to fighting him.
“I want to fight Petr Yan. I know he’s the champ and you have to beat certain people to get that fight, but that’s a fight I want eventually,” O’Malley said to ESPN. “Even if he’s not the champ, that’s a fight I want. I think he’s one of the best pound-for-pound, top-three fighters in the world. I love his style, his boxing, the way he switches stances, covers up, his defense. He’s just so good. Every time he gets in there, it’s impressive. I like his humor, too. Obviously there’s a language barrier, but I enjoy his comedy on Twitter. He calls me a poodle. I find him very funny… I can compete with Petr. He has more high-level experience with guys – (Jose) Aldo, Cory (Sandhagen), Urijah (Faber). … But I think I’m just a different animal.”
Petr Yan is set to be the co-main event of UFC 273 on April 9 as he rematches Aljamain Sterling. They fought back at UFC 259 where Yan lost his belt by DQ as he illegal kneed Sterling.
What do you make of Petr Yan saying Sean O’Malley will corner him at UFC 273?