Aiemann Zahabi responded to former titleholder Sean O’Malley’s recent ultimatum ahead of the White House card.

The UFC’s historic event on the White House lawn is just weeks away, as the first major sporting event to take place at the U.S. Presidential residence. The card is headlined by a UFC lightweight title unification bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, with an interim heavyweight title co-headliner between two-time champ Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane.

Another intriguing matchup on the seven-fight card features surging bantamweight contender Aiemann Zahabi and former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. The winner could potentially be next in line for a title shot amidst Merab Dvalishvili’s unclear timeline for a return for a possible trilogy with Petr Yan.

Ahead of UFC White House, O’Malley raised the stakes unusually on social media earlier this week.

Aiemann Zahabi declines Sean O’Malley’s tattoo bet offer ahead of fight

Weeks before their fight, O’Malley reached out to Zahabi via X to pitch a bet for the loser of their bout. O’Malley pitched that the loser of the fight will have to get a tattoo of the other fighter’s native flag.

Zahabi, a proud Canadian, was expected to potentially be open to accepting O’Malley’s offer. But to the disappointment of many, Zahabi isn’t interested.

In a recent tweet, Zahabi responded to O’Malley’s offer.

“Haram, brother,” Zahabi said.

‘Haram’ is an Arabic term for ‘forbidden or unlawful’. In Islam, permanent or semi-permanent tattoos are forbidden.

Despite their tattoo wager falling through, Zahabi is riding a lot of momentum entering UFC Freedom 250. He’s won seven fights in a row, including recent victories over Jose Aldo, Marlon Vera, and Pedro Munhoz.

O’Malley is looking to get another title shot after a win over Song Yadong at UFC 324 earlier this year.

What is your prediction for Aiemann Zahabi vs. Sean O’Malley? Let us know in the comments!