Sean O’Malley’s Walk-Off KO Marred by “Horrible Stoppage” Reactions at UFC White House

It’s been a while since Sean O’Malley knocked someone out. But that changed on Sunday night at the White House South Lawn. Facing No. 6 bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi, ‘Suga Sean’ surprised everyone with his return to form as he secured a second-round knockout win over the Canadian. However, despite the spectacular knockout win, fans are happy. 

Round 1 saw O’Malley establish his game plan early, repeatedly targeting Zahabi’s body with sharp punches and kicks. While Zahabi responded with effective inside leg kicks and occasional combinations, O’Malley landed the cleaner and more damaging shots, including a crisp left-right sequence late in the round that likely secured him the frame on the judges’ scorecards. 

Aiemann Zahabi controlled much of the second round with a relentless barrage of leg kicks, repeatedly targeting O’Malley’s lead leg while mixing in occasional jabs. However, just as Zahabi appeared to be building momentum, O’Malley flipped the fight on its head, detonating a crushing one-two followed by a devastating left hand that dropped the Canadian.

Although Zahabi tried to get back up, a right hand from O’Malley ended the contest at 04:02 of round 2. This marks O’Malley’s first knockout win since beating Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 via second-round knockout. And immediately after, veteran referee Jason Herzog stepped in to stop the contest. Meanwhile, O’Malley’s celebrations had already begun. 

SEAN O'MALLEY WITH THE WALK OFF KO

WOWWWW #UFCWhiteHousepic.twitter.com/PdSN8hyeYm

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 15, 2026

Scoring the knockout win, ‘Suga Sean’ walked off and raised his arms in the air to celebrate. He even saluted the military service members attending the event at the White House. With the massive win, O’Malley now hopes to land a title shot against the champion of the division, Petr Yan. Speaking to Joe Rogan in the ring, he made his intentions clear. 

“Petr Yan,” he told Rogan. “It should have been him here tonight. I don’t know why he didn’t show up. But that’s what I want next. Whether they do Merab and Petr, I want Petr next.”

Despite his confident call-out for a title shot, as it turns out, people weren’t exactly happy about the stoppage. And this isn’t anything new in the UFC. Just last month, during UFC 328, Joshua Van defeated Tatsuro Taira via fifth-round knockout. This was branded controversial, as many fans argued that the fight was stopped too soon. 

In a similar fashion, when Championship Rounds shared a clip of O’Malley’s knockout win, people had similar things to say. 

People discredit the knockout win by Sean O’Malley 

One fan suggested referee Jason Herzog should be investigated. “Awful stoppage; Herzog needs to be investigated,” the fan posted. Herzog faced similar accusations when he was officiating a fight between Alexander Hernandez and Chase Hooper at UFC 319 prelims last year. 

Even the next user felt the stoppage was early. “Ngl I knew Sean will win but by a finish will be a bit difficult due to zahabi having good endurance, we couldn’t see much due to the stoppage, a bit weird/early?? Yea but it’s whatever lol,” the user commented. However, O’Malley had already dropped Zahabi once; when he tried to get back up, ‘Suga’ dropped him again. 

Still, people weren’t convinced by the referee’s decision. “Horrible stoppage; he got right back up,” one user argued. Still, with O’Malley standing directly over Zahabi after landing the fight-altering shot, the former champion appeared poised to unleash further unanswered strikes, potentially forcing an even more decisive finish had the bout been allowed to continue. 

Meanwhile, this user took things to an extreme. “Another rigged fight wtf was that,” the user claimed. However, there’s no evidence to back that claim. 

Someone else wasn’t sure, but even they felt the stoppage came too early. “Early stoppage or I’m trippin?” the fan asked. From the looks of it, the stoppage appeared to be decent, but opinions will always vary.

It appears that even though Sean O’Malley has made a spectacular comeback, people aren’t ready to welcome him back.

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