O'Malley to fight Paiva at UFC 269
Sean O'Malley will compete in the final UFC pay-per-view of the year.
A fight between the rising bantamweight prospect and Raulian Paiva is set for UFC 269 on Dec. 11 in Las Vegas, O'Malley announced on his Instagram on Saturday.
O'Malley (14-1) won his first two fights this year to rebound from his first career loss in 2020. He knocked out Thomas Almeida in March before earning a TKO victory over Kris Moutinho in July.
The American was angling for a fight with Dominick Cruz, but the former champion is reportedly set to take on Pedro Munhoz at the same event.
O'Malley has a chance to break into the 135-pound rankings for the first time with his bout against Paiva (21-3), who owns the No. 15 spot.
The Brazilian, who earned a spot on the UFC roster in 2018 through "Dana White's Contender Series," is riding a three-fight winning streak after losing his first two fights. He most recently snagged a majority-decision win over Kyler Phillips in July.