Raoni Barcelos Calls for Bantamweight Showdown with Sean O’Malley

@danawhite @seanshelby I’ve been beating everybody who you put in front of me, give somebody who make sense, I will be glad to beat @SugaSeanMMA too, please make this happen in April !!
I will be ready!! pic.twitter.com/iGmxtD0ooD

— Raoni Barcelos (@BarcelosRaoni) March 30, 2021

After recovering from a case of COVID-19 that resulted in his exit from UFC Fight Night 186 on Feb. 26, Raoni Barcelos is back to training and wants to return to the Octagon as soon as possible.

Barcelos, who was won his last five bouts in the promotion, was impressed with Sean Malley’s performance against Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 this past Saturday. The Brazilian went straight to Twitter to call out the Contender Series alum, tagging UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Sean Shelby in the process.

"We have the same numbers of wins in UFC (5),” Barcelos told Sherdog.com. “The only difference is that he already has one loss in the middle.”

Barcelos believes O’Malley is one of the most impressive prospects in the 135-pound division, and he believes a fight between them could decide a future contender. Ideally, Barcelos said he would like to face O’Malley at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Fla., on April 24.

“No doubt he is a phenomenal striker, but I would like to see how he deals with a complete fighter [who puts him against the cage and on the ground],” Barcelos said. “Every time he is taken down, I see him a little bit desperate. I see myself taking him down and submitting him before the end of the fight.”