T.J. Dillashaw predicts that Petr Yan will 'run through' Sean O'Malley at UFC 280

Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw did not mince words when asked about the UFC booking Sean O'Malley to fight Petr Yan at UFC 280.

Dillashaw said he was "absolutely surprised" about the booking, adding that O'Malley has not done enough to warrant such a high profile matchup "other than hype himself up."

Indeed, this marks a huge step up in competition for O'Malley, whose highest profile matchup in his career to this point was against Marlon "Chito" Vera at UFC 252; a Round 1 TKO loss. Vera was not even a ranked opponent at the time of the fight. Yan, meanwhile, is fresh off of a title shot wherein he lost by split decision.

Dillashaw predicted that Yan "is going to be able to run through" O'Malley, but praised O'Malley for his showmanship. "Part of the sport is being a salesman, and he's done a very good job with that."

On the same night as Yan vs. O'Malley, Dillashaw himself will also be fighting; challenging the current champion Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight belt.

While it is widely assumed that Yan vs. O'Malley will be a title eliminator of sorts, Dillashaw is also open to fighting Brazilian legend José Aldo. "Aldo's been making a great statement ... so we'll see which way the UFC wants to take it after I get out there and get my belt back."