Канадын тулаанч Айман Захаби ням гарагт болох UFC White House тэмцээний хүрээнд Шон О’Мэллитэй тулалдаж, дараалсан найм дахь ялалтаа байгуулахыг зорьж байна.
Марлон Вера болон Жозе Алдо нарыг ялсны дараа чансаагаа ахиулсан Захаби октагонд ганцаараа тулалдах нь түүний хувьд давуу тал гэж үзэж байна. Тэрээр өрсөлдөгчийнхөө цохилтоос айхгүй байгаагаа илэрхийлээд, Жозе Алдо шиг аюултай тулаанчийг ялсан туршлага нь О’Мэллиг буулган авахад хангалттай гэв. Одоогийн байдлаар UFC-ийн хагас хөнгөн жингийн чансааны 8-д бичигдэж буй Захаби энэ тулаанд ялбал аваргын бүсний төлөө өрсөлдөх боломжтой болно.
Өрсөлдөгч О’Мэллиг илүү нэр хүндтэй хэмээн олон нийт үзэж байгаа ч Захаби өөрийгөө сорилтод бэлэн байгаагаа онцоллоо. Тэрээр сошиал медиагаас илүүтэйгээр тулааны ур чадвартаа анхаарч ирсэн нь өнөөдөр үр дүнгээ өгч байна гэв. Захаби энэ удаагийн тулааныг хүндхэн сорилт гэж хүлээн авч байгаа ч өөрийн тэсвэр тэвчээр, шийдэмгий байдалдаа итгэлтэй байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
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MONTREAL, QUEBEC – MAY 10: Aiemann Zahabi of Canada (L) fights Jose Aldo of Brazil in a bantamweight bout during UFC 315 at Bell Centre on May 10, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Aiemann Zahabi has risen through the ranks with his toughness and versatility, but if Sean O’Malley wants to stand and bang at the White House, so be it.
The bantamweights are set to throw down Sunday at UFC White House, with Zahabi having the chance to add the former champion to his hit list and secure his eighth straight victory. By his own admission, Zahabi has clown under the radar at times, but coming off of wins over Marlon Vera and Jose Aldo, the Canadian contender knows the time for shying away from the spotlight is over.
Zahabi was part of a recent press conference for the historic event and he was pleasantly surprised to be asked a question while O’Malley was mostly left to sit in silence.
“I felt cool,” Zahabi told MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck. “I was happy, because I guess also he’s been asked so many questions. People kind of know who he is, know what he’s all about. And I thought it was cool that they gave me a question so people can finally understand my perspective. My perspective is unique, like I even said it, I’m happy that the fans cheer him on but at the end of the day, there’s nothing you can do. I’m fighting him in a cage alone. Nobody can help him.
“At the end of the day, it’s just me and him. The fact that it’s in D.C., none of that intervenes. Nobody can help anybody and I feel like fans forget that, and I want this fight. I can’t wait to get in there. I’m excited. I’m not afraid of this guy. His striking doesn’t scare me. To me, Jose Aldo as the biggest, baddest, most dangerous striker in the division and I survived that. I’m not worried about Sean O’Malley’s striking so much.”
Currently No. 8 at 135 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, Zahabi should theoretically secure a title shot if he impresses against O’Malley this Sunday. Not only will he have defeated one of the UFC’s most popular fighters, he’ll do so on arguably the biggest card of the year.
Zahabi has seen his popularity steadily rise during his win streak and he attributes that not only to his in-cage success, but his increased social media presence.
“People are going to have to get to know me,” Zahabi said. “People are going to have to find out who I am. I feel like also I’m an acquired taste. You have to listen to me talk a few times, you’re going to have to get to know me. I don’t really fit into any specific type of mode. O’Malley, you kind of get the gist of it. It’s more complicated with me. So it will come when it comes, but I’m happy in the meantime.
“Look, a lot of people are talking about this fight more about because of O’Malley than they are about me because I don’t work my social media like that. Now I’m finally trying to push the social media, I feel like now it makes more sense to devote the time, I feel like I’m much more of a complete fighter, but I was putting my nose to the grind and I was putting the blinders on to make sure I was actually a fighter of substance and now I feel like it’s undeniable.”
With fight night days away, Zahabi is one of the bigger underdogs on the UFC White House lineup, currently around 3-to-1 on FanDuel. Along with Justin Gaethje, who competes in the lightweight championship main event against Ilia Topuria, and Michael Chandler, the three aren’t being given much of a chance to leave the nation’s capital with another win on their résumé.
Zahabi has beaten long odds before and he’s letting everyone know it will happen again.
“I’ll give you this quote: Anything worth having is an uphill battle,” Zahabi said. “Me and Justin Gaethje both have uphill battles, but it doesn’t mean you can count us out. We have a lot of heart and a lot of determination and we’ve won big moments before, why can’t we win big moments tonight? There are a lot of uncontrollables in there and I’m excited to see how he does and I’m excited to see how I do as well.”
