Tim Welch, coach of recently dethroned UFC star Sean O'Malley, has hit back at claims his calls to opposition fighters from the corner is "unsportsmanlike."
Welch was unable to guide his man to a second successful title defense in Las Vegas this past weekend, where the unique Sphere venue played host to the UFC's second annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day.
"Suga" was comfortably outpointed across five rounds by Merab Dvalishvili, who recorded an 11th straight triumph inside the Octagon to secure his long-awaited championship crowning on MMA's biggest stage.
The headlining fight was an odd affair, and that was the case almost immediately. In the opening seconds, referee Herb Dean had to interfere as Dvalishvili began lambasting O'Malley's corner.
As it turned out, coach Welch had been up to his old tricks, repeating the opposition coaching he employed in an attempt to fool Aljamain Sterling into an ill-advised rush in Boston last year.
The Georgian wasn't about to let those antics go unanswered, and many in the community have since backed him up and criticized the actions of O'Malley's trainer.
During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Welch reflected on his man's championship loss inside the Sphere and touched on the controversy surrounding his input in the fight.
Welch said he was surprised at Dvalishvili's emotional outburst following one remark early on, which he went on to defend by insisting that he'll always look for an edge that could aid his fighter inside the cage.
He must have been anticipating that a little bit. But I really wasn't going out of my way to yell," Welch said. "I was surprised how much he freaked out. He let his emotions freakin' get to him in there. But, it didn't do anything, it didn't matter one bit.
It's not like I'm being unsportsmanlike. I mean, it's a little mind games. People sometimes forget that this is a fight. He's fighting my buddy, a really close buddy who I've spent a lot of years growing up with. He's fighting him, trying to beat him up," Welch continued. "If there's any way to do a little bit of mind games when it comes to war, I'm gonna do it. If I was your coach and I thought it might help you win, maybe just a little bit, then I'd probably do it also.
Whether or not such a strategy contributed to O'Malley's title-winning performance against Sterling is up for debate, but there's no doubt about the lack of affect it had on proceedings at UFC 306.
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