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Ex-UFC Champion Sean O'Malley Travels to Japan to Attend RIZIN 49 on New Year's Eve

"Suga" will spend New Year's Eve at Saitama Super Arena.

Drew Beaupre

(via Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Fans won't get to see Sean O’Malley return to the cage until 2025, but “Suga” is going to ring in the new year by attending RIZIN 49 in Japan.

O'Malley Welcomed To Japan By RIZIN President

One of the most popular stars on the UFC roster, O’Malley entered the year as the promotion’s bantamweight champion after he stopped Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 to claim the belt with his fifth win in a row.

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“Suga” successfully defended his title for the first time and also avenged his only pro loss when he defeated Marlon “Chito” Vera by unanimous decision at UFC 299, but in September the 30-year-old was outworked by Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 306 at Sphere in Las Vegas.

Ex-UFC Champion Sean O'Malley to Attend Japan's RIZIN 49 on New Year's Eve
O'Malley lost his title to Dvalishvili at UFC 306. / Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

O’Malley recently announced that he’d be taking some time away from social media but did post a video of him on the way to Tokyo just yesterday, and hardcore MMA fans will be unsurprised to learn that he’s made the trip to Japan in order to attend RIZIN 49 on New Year’s Eve.

RIZIN President and former PRIDE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara notes that O’Malley will be holding his “talk show” on December 30 before attending RIZIN 49 the following night, which presumably means that fans can look forward to at least one more podcast from “Suga” before the end of the year.

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Set to take place at the iconic Saitama Super Arena, RIZIN 49 features three title bouts and will celebrate the promotion’s two-night debut that took place back in 2015.

The main event will see Chihiro Suzuki attempt to defend his featherweight belt for a second time against Kleber Koike Erbst after Roberto de Souza steps into the ring for his fourth lightweight title defense against Vugar Karamov, and former UFC title challenger Kyoji Horiguchi is also set to defend his flyweight title for the first time against ex-EFC champion Nkazimulo Zulu.

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O’Malley will almost certainly get some camera time during the RIZIN broadcast considering the welcome he’s been given by Sakakibara, and combat sports fans that are already looking ahead to the UFC’s return in 2025 should be sure to tune in for what will be an action-packed RIZIN 49 card on New Year's Eve.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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