Sean O'Malley's coach, Tim Welch, recently found himself in the crosshairs of fans' ire after "Suga" came up short in his title defense against Merab Dvalishvili at Noche UFC 306.
The reigning UFC bantamweight champion’s reign was cut short in dramatic fashion when he faced Dvalishvili in his second title defense last weekend at the Las Vegas Sphere. O'Malley was expected to deliver a striking masterclass to counter the danger posed by "The Machine's" elite wrestling. However, the fight unfolded in a completely different direction, as Dvalishvili flipped the script and dominated O'Malley instead.
Right from the outset, "Suga" found himself off balance, unable to establish any success as Dvalishvili smothered him with a torrent of takedowns at every turn. In the end, O'Malley succumbed to a unanimous decision defeat.
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Although fight week remained relatively free of drama, controversy erupted almost immediately once the bout began. Dvalishvili accused O'Malley's coach of resorting to familiar tactics, claiming he repeated the same strategy used to deceive Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 in August 2023, attempting to bait him into a reckless charge.
"The Machine" swiftly brought the fight to a halt, furiously directing his attention toward O'Malley’s corner. His outburst forced referee Herb Dean to step in and deliver an admonition. Welch seemingly confessed on X to throwing out some questionable corner advice aimed at distracting Dvalishvili during the fight.
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Fans Take Shots At Welch After O'Malley's Defeat to Dvalishvili
Welch recently dropped a YouTube video where he broke down O'Malley's title loss to Dvalishvili at Noche UFC 306. Once again, the MMA coach admitted to employing divisive corner tactics against the newly crowned bantamweight champion.
However, the fans flocked to the comments section, blasting Welch for resorting to underhanded strategies and holding him responsible for "Suga's" defeat with a barrage of criticism.
One fan sarcastically clapped back at "Red Hawk", using his own words from the fight, after the fourth round in the corner, to mock him.
"'It’s okay, buddy, we're almost done'."
Another fan playfully suggested that Welch should pack O'Malley off to Dagestan for a crash course in wrestling.
"Tim send him to Dagestan and forget about him for 2 - 3 years."
One fan remarked that Team O'Malley seemed to have no meaningful strategy to counter Dvalishvili.
"Looked like you guys had f**k all of a game plan."
One user jokingly teased Welch, claiming that "The Machine" playfully kissing O'Malley's back during their grappling exchange in the second round was the real moment that shattered O'Malley’s mental game.
"Those kisses were some significant strikes to the mental"
One fan criticized Welch, lamenting his choice to offer dubious guidance to Dvalishvili.
"Tries to cheat by yelling instructions to Merab, gets caught. 'It’ll be over soon, Sean'."
"Tim got called out red-handed trying to coach Merab like he did Aljo."
Another user pointed fingers at "Red Hawk," holding him responsible for O'Malley's defeat, claiming he failed to adequately prepare his fighter for the challenge ahead.
"Now we know why Sean lost; his coach is more into his YouTube channel than training his champion MMA fighter"
"It's called being classless and trying to cheat because ur guy can't beat him without the bullsh*t."
"Sean ain’t ever seeing that belt again"
"Merab put on an absolute clinic, made Sean look like he had never laced up a glove in his life."
"Sean got his a** beat; all that trash-talking didn't help."
