Coach Tim Welch has received plenty of criticism for how he handled Sean O’Malley’s corner at UFC 306.
O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost his bantamweight title by unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in this past Saturday’s main event at Sphere in Las Vegas. Dvalishvili’s coach, UFC Hall of Famer Matt Serra, thinks Welch showed no sense of urgency with his fighter being down big in the final five minutes of the fight. Welch addressed the backlash and clarified what he meant when he was heard telling O’Malley “we are almost done with this” in the fifth round.
“It came out the wrong way. I meant to say ‘we’re almost done with this,’ like ‘you’re going to clip him at any time,’” Welch told ESPN. “But also, I’ve known Sean for 12 years. I know what’s going through his mind and keeping him confident. I always forget those cameras are rolling on my mic and stuff. I want to keep his head in it. It sounded way worse than it actually was. I just meant to say, ‘This fight is almost over. We’re almost done with this, you can clip him at any point.’ But it came out the wrong way and sounded stupid.”
O’Malley is set to undergo surgery Oct. 3 to repair a torn labrum in his left hip, which he suffered 10 weeks prior to his fight with Dvalishvili. Welch expects a motivated O’Malley in his return and doesn’t think they’re short of big opportunities.
“It’s just a perfect time to practice what we preach all the time,” Welch said. “I’ve been around fighting a long time. I know eventually you’re probably going to lose. If you keep fighting the best people on planet Earth in your weight class, eventually you’re going to lose.
“I just think every fight for Sean is going to be a big fight. The build-up is going to be big, he’s just such a showman, and I think it’ll be similar to, like every fight Nate Diaz is in is a big fight. Every fight Jorge Masvidal is in is a big fight. So, I think it’ll be similar for Sean, and I think right now it’s really going to light a fire under him.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.
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