Since the early days of his UFC career, Sean O’Malley has always been a captivating figure, known for his unique persona and flashy fighting style.

While the past year or two haven’t gone his way, O’Malley seems back to his best in 2026. In January, he picked up a win over Song Yadong, and at the White House, he finished Aiemann Zahabi.

It was the 31-year-old’s first finish since August 2023, when he first captured bantamweight gold at the expense of Aljamain Sterling. O’Malley seemed rejuvenated, and it wasn’t only the fan base that was in awe of the performance. President Donald Trump took time to chat with him after his electrifying salute TKO.

Sean O’Malley’s Impressive White House Showing

Amber Searls via Imagn Images

As fans have become accustomed to, O’Malley built on a strong first round. He’s a momentum fighter and someone who shows great patience when in the Octagon.

He was timing his shots perfectly all night, and eventually it led to the finish. Towards the end of the second round, Zahabi was applying plenty of pressure, but the chaos only played into O’Malley’s hands.

The American continued to pick his shots before putting Zahabi down with a strong left hand. Another one-two came soon after, which dropped the Canadian once again, leaving Jason Herzog only one decision: stop the fight.

What Sean O’Malley Said to Donald Trump

In the aftermath of the win, O’Malley said a few words to President Donald Trump, who was, of course, sat just metres away from the Octagon.

What Next For Sean O’Malley

After Petr Yan defeated Merab Dvalishvili back in December, O’Malley’s situation became even more intriguing. He now has a win over the current champion, which could build towards a highly anticipated rematch.

The first one in Abu Dhabi was an incredibly close fight, and ultimately changed O’Malley’s trajectory. Just a year prior, he was fighting Kris Moutinho and wasn’t in the top 10 of the rankings. Fast-forward a year, and he has beaten the former champion in a razor-thin decision. Perhaps, Yan will be looking to avenge that defeat and further cement his status as king of the bantamweights.

Outside of this, there is also Corey Sandhagen. Despite being in and around the top of the division for a while, the two are yet to meet in the Octagon. It was an idea floating around prior to the Zahabi announcement and would make for a fan-friendly match-up. Sandhagen fights Mario Bautista at UFC 329. Once that is done, maybe their timelines can finally cross over.

Harry Kane wore a different shirt to the rest of his teammates as England defeated Croatia at the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday afternoon.

The Bayern Munich star, who is one of the contenders to win the Ballon d’Or following a tremendous season for his club, was named in the Three Lions’ starting lineup for their opening game of the tournament at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Kane hit the back of the net twice in the first half as the two sides went into the break level at 2-2. Kane was again influential in the second half as goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford gave Thomas Tuchel’s side a 4-2 victory.

The 32-year-old has now scored 10 goals for England at the World Cup, equalling Gary Lineker’s record.

Harry Kane Wears Different Shirt to England Teammates

Hannah Mckay via Reuters

Kane wore a special patch on his arm during the match against Croatia, and he will continue to don the patch for the remainder of the tournament.

In the 2018 World Cup, he netted six times as England finished fourth. That was enough for him to win the Golden Boot, awarded to the player that scored the most goals in the tournament.

To commemorate that achievement, he was allowed to wear a special golden patch on his sleeve. The patch, located just below the FIFA World Cup logo, is a golden boot with the year ‘2018’ on it.

Only players that have won the Golden Boot at previous World Cup tournaments are permitted to wear the patch.

That means only two other players in this year’s tournament are wearing the patch. They are Colombia’s James Rodriguez, who won the Golden Boot in 2014, and France star Kylian Mbappe, who scored eight goals in the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

Kane, Rodriguez and Mbappe will continue to wear the sleeve patch for the remainder of the competition.

Harry Kane Gives Thoughts After Croatia Victory

Nathan Ray Seebeck via Reuters

Kane revealed Tuchel’s speech at half-time and praised his side for pulling off a great result. He said, per the Guardian:

“He [Tuchel] told us to take the shackles off, calm down and let’s go. He said what’s the worst that can happen? Show the world who we can be.

“We had a spell where we could have scored three or four. Credit to everyone: the first game of the tournament and a great result against a tough side.”

England and Kane return to action on Tuesday, June 23 when they take on Ghana in Boston. A victory will see the Three Lions qualify for the knockout rounds of the competition.

Among the many exciting moments scattered throughout UFC Freedom 250 at the White House, Ciryl Gane taking on Alex Pereira certainly ranked high.

Poatan made the jump up to heavyweight, taking on Gane, who was coming off the back of a controversial bout against Tom Aspinall. The chance to become a three-weight world champion and further etch himself in the history books was up for grabs for the Brazilian. However, the step-up seemed one too many as the Frenchman made it look easy on his way to becoming the interim UFC heavyweight champion.

It’s the third time Pereira has tasted defeat during his tenure with the UFC. Interestingly, all three have come in different weight classes, with Israel Adesanya, Magomed Ankalaev, and now Gane all finding a way to solve the Poatan puzzle. With defeat comes adversity, and it seems like his initial handling of the situation resonated with another UFC star.

Amber Searls via Imagn Images

During the fight, Poatan didn’t seem as mobile and couldn’t find his rhythm. Perhaps making such a drastic jump in weight hurt his speed, while the power also may not have translated. Gane was controlling the fight from the outside, with his movement dazzling the Brazilian. In the opening stages of the second round, it was more of the same, with a jab dropping Pereira; from there, the onslaught ensued.

Gane connected with a barrage of strikes before Herb Dean called a stop to the contest. It was one-sided, perhaps in a way few fighters and fans would have expected.

Following the loss, fellow fighter at UFC Freedom 250, Sean O’Malley, touched on how good his mentality is even after such a tough moment.

“I was like, ‘That dude is a legend,’ just for having that perspective so quickly after a fight and carrying that mentality… a lot of respect for that.”

What Next For Alex Pereira

After making the jump up to heavyweight, and dramatically changing his build, Pereira is in an interesting situation. What’s next for him in this division, especially after not being able to assert himself against someone like Gane?

In an interview after the fight, he’d already called for a rematch. However, this isn’t likely to happen given the manner in which the fight ended, and the fact that Aspinall and Gane now need to fight in order to make the championship undisputed. That fight has already been touted for September, which suggests Pereira would need another win before any possible title shot.

Josh Hokit had plenty to say about the Brazilian in the lead-up to the White House card, with the American criticising him at both press conferences. Hokit has brought himself into title contention following wins over Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. Could he be the next best challenge for Pereira?