Sean O’Malley’s coach admits he “wouldn’t be surprised” if ‘Suga’ takes down Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292

Tim Welch, the head coach of Sean O’Malley says he wouldn’t be surprised if ‘Suga’ outwrestled Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292.

In the main event of UFC 292 from Boston, O’Malley is looking to become the new bantamweight champion when he faces Sterling. It’s an intriguing matchup and in the lead-up, many believe that if Sean O’Malley is going to win, it is because he kept the fight standing.

However, Tim Welch believes Sean O’Malley is very capable of out-grappling Aljamain Sterling and wouldn’t be surprised to see him takedown the champ.

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he dumped Aljo’

“Just like you saw with Petr, he has some sneaky takedowns that will put people flat on their face. They are not really even like explosive double legs or single legs, they are duck under,” Welch said on The MMA Hour about Sean O’Malley wrestling Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292. “He can duck under both ways. I wouldn’t be surprised if he dumped Aljo.”

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When asked if he thinks Sean O’Malley’s grappling and wrestling is underrated, Tim Welch said he believes that to be the case.

“I think so, because with a striker like Petr, Sean is very dangerous along the fence, too. He can knock you out with both limbs and he throws subtle feints that from the TV you can’t see from the TV. But, when you are standing right in front of him, they are subtle feints that really mess people up,” Welch continued about Sean O’Malley. “With Petr we weren’t worried about putting our back up against the fence, because we know how dangerous he was there. A huge focus on this fight camp is keeping him off the fence. It will be a little different, it will be harder grab Sean than Aljo thinks.”

Ultimately, if Sean O’Malley does decide to wrestle Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 it will be an intriguing wrinkle to the fight. But, even if he doesn’t, Welch is confident his pupil will leave Boston as the new champion.