Sean O’Malley’s coach claims the Sphere lights contributed to ‘Suga’ losing at UFC 306

Tim Welch, the head coach of Sean O’Malley, has a unique reason for his fighter’s loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306.

O’Malley lost his bantamweight title at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas back in September to Dvalishvili. O’Malley struggled to keep the fight standing as Dvalishvili cruised to a win.

Now, ahead of their rematch at UFC 316 on June 7, Welch believes the lighting at the Sphere impacted Sean O’Malley more than they realized.

“I rewatched the fight in slow-mo so many times. There were tons and tons of shots that barely missed by inches that would have completely changed the fight, and I think a lot of it had to do with the Sphere and the lighting,” Welch said to ESPN. “And then not only the injury, I just feel like in our lives that was supposed to happen. It really, really caused us to truly level up as humans. And looking back, it was really good for us.”

It’s an interesting claim, and now Tim Welch is confident that Sean O’Malley will do much better in the rematch.

Tim Welch issues high praise for Merab Dvalishvili ahead of Sean O’Malley rematch

Heading into UFC 316, Sean O’Malley is a sizeable underdog, and Tim Welch understands why.

Welch knows Dvalishvili is dominant with what he does and calls him maybe the best bantamweight ever.

“I don’t really know how you debate that Merab’s not the best of all time. Just look at his record. Has there ever been a bantamweight who’s beaten that many former champions in a row? It’s pretty easy to say that Merab is the best bantamweight ever right now,” Welch added.

It’s an interesting comment from Welch as he looks to boost Dvalishvili’s stock before O’Malley fights him. So, should O’Malley win, Welch can then likely claim his fighter as the best bantamweight.

Sean O’Malley enters his UFC 306 title fight having not fought since he lost to Merab Dvalishvili last September.