Coach Tim Welch shares what he said to Merab Dvalishvili in opening seconds of UFC 306

Sean O’Malley’s head coach, Tim Welch, has revealed what he told Merab Dvalishvili in the opening seconds of UFC 306 that forced referee Herb Dean to scold him.

Dvalishvili dominantly defeated Welch’s pupil at UFC 306 last Saturday in Las Vegas. Under the immense spotlight of the Sphere, Dvalishvili put on arguably the best performance of his career to earn the UFC bantamweight title.

In the opening seconds of the first round, referee Herb Dean stopped the action after Dvalishvili was screaming at O’Malley’s corner. It was later discovered that Welch was trying to give fake commands to Dvalishvili in hopes of opening up a window for O’Malley.

The tactic didn’t work, and Dean gave Welch a firm warning not to do it again.

Coach Tim Welch told Merab Dvalishvili to “Be patient” in the corner

In a recent tweet, Welch gave his side of the story.

i said be patient merab, but congrats he fought a great fight

— Tim Welch (@TimwelchMT) September 15, 2024

“I said be patient merab, but congrats he fought a great fight,” Welch said.

Dvalishvili’s title reign caps off an ongoing 11-fight winning streak inside the Octagon. Before defeating O’Malley, he defeated former champions Henry Cejudo and Petr Yan for the title shot.

Welch has been in O’Malley’s corner since his professional MMA debut in 2015. A former MMA fighter himself, Welch is regarded by many as one of the top coaches in the sport.

Welch and O’Malley will now look to pick up the pieces and rebuild the now-former champion. The loss to Dvalishvili was O’Malley’s first defeat since falling to Marlon Vera at UFC 252.

Dvalishvili, meanwhile, will likely face Umar Nurmagomedov for his first bantamweight title defense. As of this writing, it’s uncertain when O’Malley will return to the cage to make another case for a title shot.

Welch and O’Malley could make redemption the theme of the looming 2025 calendar year. In the meantime, they’ll work to patch up some of the talented striker’s flaws.