Sean O'Malley defeats Aiemann Zahabi by KO/TKO
O'Malley vs Zahabi — Bantamweight · UFC Freedom 250
Watch
The finish and the full recap.
Signature moments
What happened
The result, the defining moments, and what the verdict means.
O'Malley got the better of the first-round striking exchanges, though neither fighter inflicted significant damage.
Zahabi focused on low kicks in round two while O'Malley began landing heavier shots.
A left hand sent Zahabi down, and O'Malley landed a right hand on his jaw when he rose to halt the action.
- Official UFC resultsUFC · UFC Freedom 250 results
Who Called It?
How the analysts' picks held up once the cage door closed.
Analyst picks: Luke Thomas Hit; The MMA Guru Hit; We Want Picks Hit; TheWeasle Hit; Michael Bisping Hit; Demetrious Johnson Hit; The W.A.D.E. Concept Hit; Bedtime MMA Hit; HopperoMMA Hit; Lucas Tracy Hit; Danny “Brasco” Vithlani Hit; AJ Hit; Mike Finch Hit; Travis Herrick MMA Hit.
All 14 analyst scorecardsWinner, method and round results14 scored · 14 hits · 0 misses
| Predicted by | Pick | Actual | Winner | Method | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · to win | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Not called | Not called | |
| Thomas respects Zahabi as a legitimate ranked opponent, but still calls it O'Malley's fight to lose. His view is that Zahabi winning would be a major upset, while the more likely outcome is O'Malley doing what he's expected to do.
“This is O'Malley's fight to lose. At least it should be.” Track record builds as we verify their past calls. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · KO/TKO | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Hit | Not called | |
| Zahabi ("Amy/Amian Zahabi") lacks the sudden power or grappling to threaten O'Malley ("Shaun Ali/Omali"), who will be too there-to-be-hit and get clipped for a vintage highlight KO in the first or second round. Track record: winner called in 66 of 99 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · to win | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Not called | Not called | |
| Sean is the far more accurate striker with more power and controls the range against a Zahabi who doesn't threaten takedowns or move forward. Track record: winner called in 79 of 121 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · Dec | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Miss | Not called | |
| O'Malley's striking is on a far higher level and Zahabi has seen nothing he can't handle, but Zahabi's toughness keeps him alive to a decision. Track record: winner called in 45 of 61 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · to win | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Not called | Not called | |
| O'Malley is taller with better boxing and a longer reach, and Bisping leans on the Chito Vera common opponent — what O'Malley did to Vera versus how close Zahabi's own fight with Vera was — while admitting MMA math doesn't really stack up.
“Sugar Sean O'Malley is probably going to beat Aiemann Zahabi.” Track record: winner called in 12 of 20 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · to win | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Not called | Not called | |
| DJ picks O'Malley, who he sees in a flow state with strong takedown defence that makes it hard for Zahabi to close the distance. Zahabi's only real path is to grapple O'Malley onto his back with a near-perfect game plan.
Track record: winner called in 9 of 15 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · KO/TKO · R3 | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Hit | Miss | |
| Wade leans on Zahabi getting hit nearly as often as he lands — a bad idea against O'Malley, who thrives once he finds his flow on a striking-heavy card. He cites coach Tim Welch calling it their best, healthiest camp, and frames it as O'Malley needing a statement.
Track record: winner called in 5 of 7 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · Dec | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Miss | Not called | |
| He thinks O'Malley styles on Zahabi with oblique kicks, body front-kicks, jab and straight punches against Zahabi's pressure-boxing. He credits Zahabi's kicks and toughness and a viable takedown threat, but expects O'Malley to defend, threaten guillotines and win clearly.
Track record: winner called in 83 of 126 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · KO/TKO · R2 | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Hit | Hit | |
| O'Malley has faced far better strikers and grapplers across his career than Zahabi, a 38-year-old who only barely beat Aldo and Vera. The host sees O'Malley as the most dynamic striker in the division and expects vintage form.
Track record: winner called in 58 of 92 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · KO/TKO · R1 | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Hit | Miss | |
| Tracy notes Zahabi is a notorious slow starter coming off a razor-thin fight with Vera, while O'Malley is dangerous early and put on one of the best bantamweight striking performances ever against Vera. He expects O'Malley to walk Zahabi onto a punch early.
* An early read — filmed ~2 weeks out (1 Jun), before fight week. Track record: winner called in 21 of 32 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · KO/TKO | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Hit | Not called | |
| The betting analyst likes a 'big time' O'Malley knockout: Zahabi at 38 is taking accumulating damage — knocked down in each of his last two fights — and runs into a sharp O'Malley at a bad time.
“I like a big time O'Malley knockout.” * A betting analyst's pick on the UFC on Paramount+ / CBS HQ Spotlight panel. Track record builds as we verify their past calls. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · KO/TKO | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Hit | Not called | |
| AJ sees O'Malley as the faster, superior boxer against a 38-year-old Zahabi whose boxing style and limited grappling threat leave him open to a vintage knockout. Track record: winner called in 75 of 109 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · Dec | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Miss | Not called | |
| Mike agrees on O'Malley but leans away from AJ's knockout call, expecting O'Malley to touch Zahabi, move, avoid the return fire and pitch a shutout-style win. Track record: winner called in 30 of 49 resolved picks. | |||||
| Historic market Favourite call, market price 77.5%. O'Malley · to win | O'Malley · KO/TKO R2 | Hit | Not called | Not called | |
| Herrick thinks the matchup is built for O'Malley. He sees Zahabi as a decent ranked opponent but not nearly enough of a wrestler to neutralize O'Malley, and expects O'Malley to control the striking with range and precision.
“I think he's going to beat Zahabi.” Track record: winner called in 5 of 6 resolved picks. | |||||
14 of 14 nailed it.
The experts above are a lens, not credentials we conferred — analyst, fighter or betting desk.
Reactions
Fighters' own words, then peers, then analysts.
Sean O'Malley
O’Malley describes the finish as a clean read on Zahabi, saying he felt calm in the matchup, recognized the right-hand connection, and chose the walkoff salute.O’Malley describes the finish as a clean read on Zahabi, saying he felt calm in the matchup, recognized the right-hand connection, and chose the walkoff salute.
- Said he had a strong stylistic read on Zahabi before the fight.
- Explained that he trusted the right hand once it landed clean.
- Noted Zahabi’s leg kicks but felt his own length and speed controlled the dangerous exchanges.
Demetrious Johnson
Their pick: O'Malley to win · ✓ Hit Demetrious Johnson says O’Malley remained too quick, long and precise for Zahabi’s leg-kick game, turning the White House knockout into another memorable UFC moment.Demetrious Johnson says O’Malley remained too quick, long and precise for Zahabi’s leg-kick game, turning the White House knockout into another memorable UFC moment.
- Called O’Malley a sniper whose distance management forced the key exchanges.
- Questioned Zahabi’s focus on leg kicks instead of a heavier wrestling threat.
- Said the knockout leaves O’Malley in a strong position for another major bantamweight fight.
Archive Pre-fight material — kept for transparency.
- 5.98 4.47
- 59% 68%
- 3.40 4.11
- 60% 83%
- 68% 57%
- 19-3-0
- Record
- 14-2-0
- 3-2 last 5
- Recent formRecent formWin–loss record over the fighter’s last five bouts, newest first, as carried in their UFC/FightMetric career stats.
- 5-0 last 5
- Switch
- StanceStanceWhich side a fighter leads from — a striking term, not a religious one. Orthodox: right-handed, left foot and hand forward (the common default). Southpaw: the mirror image, right side forward (usually a left-hander). Switch: changes between the two during a fight.
- Orthodox
- 11:32
- Avg. fight timeAvg. timeAverage fight timeThe mean length of the fighter’s bouts (minutes:seconds) — a rough read on whether they tend to finish early or go the distance. From UFC/FightMetric.
- 12:07
- USA
- Nationality
- Canada
- The MMA Lab · Glendale, Arizona
- Team
- Tristar Gym · Montreal
Career stats per UFC.com; recent form is each fighter's last five bouts. Numbers reflect records coming into fight night. Bars compare each stat on a fixed scale; the “Edge” marker flags the leading corner where the gap is meaningful. The snapshot plots five career rates — output, striking defense, durability (strikes absorbed, inverted), takedown defense and finish rate — each normalised on its own scale.
Pre-fight analysis — how we saw it going in
Case for O'Malley
Length, speed and one of the most accurate, creative striking games at 135 lb. At his best, O'Malley picks opponents apart from range and drops them with a whip-fast right hand. He's a former champion with the highest ceiling in this fight, and a hungry, prove-the-doubters version of him after losing his belt is a dangerous one.
Case for Zahabi
Riding the best run of his career — a seven-fight win streak built on disciplined, well-schooled Tristar technique and steadily improving power. Zahabi is patient, defensively sound and rarely out of position, and he arrives with nothing to lose against a former champ. The longer he keeps it competitive, the more the pressure sits on O'Malley.
What We Were Watching For
- O'Malley is coming off two losses to Merab Dvalishvili — are the timing and the confidence still there?
- Zahabi's biggest test by a distance: does the moment, and O'Malley's speed, expose a gap in levels — or has he closed it?
- A range war — O'Malley's reach and footwork against Zahabi's composure in the pocket.
- Can Zahabi's seven-fight momentum carry against the sharpest striker he's shared a cage with?
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