UFC White House star Sean O’Malley slates ‘ugly’ fight kits for special event

Seemingly backtracking somewhat, the American continued: “I will say, I like the white because I do truly believe I’m going to crack Aiemann [...] I’m excited for my white shorts to be red. I’m going to see how red I can get my white shorts from his blood. But overall, didn’t f***ing love them.”

Elaborating on his expectations for the fight against Zahabi, O’Malley said: “I’m going to bloody his nose. I think I’m going to hit him a lot. I think he’s going to be very tough, I think he’s going to be very durable, [but] I think I’m going to beat the f*** out of him – kind of like Kris Moutinho-esque.”

O’Malley put a beating on Kris Moutinho in their 2021 bout (Getty)

O’Malley was referencing a 2021 fight in which he stopped Moutinho in the final 30 seconds, having beating him up for the best part of three rounds.

O’Malley, now 31, went on to win the bantamweight title in 2023 by knocking out Aljamain Sterling in the second round. He recorded one successful title defence with a clinic against Marlon Vera in 2024, before losing the belt later that year. The American was dethroned by Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili, who won the title on points before submitting O’Malley in a rematch last June.

O’Malley bounced back in January with a narrow points win over Song Yadong, and it is widely believed that he could challenge for the title next if he beats Zahabi; the belt is currently in the possession of Petr Yan, whom O’Malley controversially outpointed in 2022.

O’Malley is ranked second at 135lb at the time of writing, while Zahabi is No 6 in the division. Although he is already 38, the Canadian is a rising contender, and he will take to the South Lawn on the back of wins over Vera and the legendary Jose Aldo.

Aeimann Zahabi (top) outpointed the legendary Jose Aldo last May (Getty)

The White House event, named “UFC Freedom 250”, will be headlined by Ilia Topuria’s title defence against Justin Gaethje, who holds the interim lightweight belt.

The co-main event pits Alex Pereira against Ciryl Gane, with the interim heavyweight title on the line, while the rest of the card reads as such: Derrick Lewis vs Josh Hokit (heavyweight); Mauricio Ruffy vs Michael Chandler (lightweight); Bo Nickal vs Kyle Daukaus (middleweight); and Diego Lopes vs Steve Garcia (featherweight).

Hokit vs Lewis was added at Mr Trump’s request, after he saw Hokit beat Curtis Blaydes in an instant classic in April. The US president was ringside in Miami as Hokit won that fight, and the heavyweight was paired with Lewis – one of Mr Trump’s favourite fighters – before the night was up.

At last week’s launch press conference for UFC Freedom 250, Hokit was removed by security after an altercation with Topuria.