Sean O'Malley is ready to make another statement at UFC White House on June 14—but the opponent he originally wanted isn't the one he's getting.

Fresh off an impressive win over Song Yadong in January, "Suga" Sean has been eyeing a rematch with Petr Yan. The stakes couldn't be higher: Yan just reclaimed the bantamweight title from Merab Dvalishvili, who holds two wins over O'Malley. For O'Malley, who edged out Yan in a razor-thin decision at UFC 280, a championship rematch felt like the obvious next step.

But the UFC had other plans. Instead of Yan, O'Malley will face surging contender Aiemann Zahabi—a seven-fight win streak fighter who's been quietly climbing the ranks.

According to O'Malley, the reason for the change is simple: Yan didn't want to run it back.

"I was supposed to fight Petr Yan, the champ, the little Russian, but I beat him last time so he didn't want to fight this time," O'Malley told FOX 11 Los Angeles. "That would have been a big fight."

Instead, O'Malley gets Zahabi—a dangerous Canadian with a kickboxing-heavy style that promises fireworks inside the Octagon. "Very tough, very durable, very experienced," O'Malley said. "He's going to be more of a kickboxer style, so it's going to be a very exciting, electric kickboxing fight with little gloves on."

The matchup also carries an unexpected storyline: America vs. Canada. While O'Malley isn't one to lean into politics, he sees the narrative potential. "I'm not a very political person," he admitted in an interview with Against The Cage. "For me, it doesn't matter who I'm fighting, but it is America vs. Canada, there's a little bit of that to it."

Regardless of the opponent, O'Malley will enjoy a rare home-field advantage at the White House. The Montana native's last three fights have all been against international competitors, and he's embracing the chance to represent the U.S. on home soil. "This is just man vs. man," he said. "We're going to get locked in the doors and see who quits, see who breaks, see who gets knocked out first. That's what it is every fight."

With Yan sitting on the sidelines and Zahabi riding a seven-fight heater, O'Malley has everything to gain—and nothing to lose. A dominant win could put him right back in the title conversation, with or without Yan's cooperation.