Sean O’Malley’s longtime coach Tim Welch broke a brand new excuse for an embarrassing loss last year for fighter Merab Dvalishvili.
Emanating from the Las Vegas territory, UFC 306 was headlined by the tilt of the bantamweight title between defending champions O’Malley and top-ranked dvalishvili. “The Machine” ruled O’Malley over the entire 25-minute incident, leaving “Sin City” as the newly crowned 135 pound king.
Since then, Dvalishvili has further established himself as the world’s best bantamweight, handing the defeat of his first career to Umar Nurmagomedov in UFC 311. Meanwhile, O’Malley recovered shortly after discarding “The Machine” in September.
Initially, O’Malley had “zero excuses” for the loss before revealing that he had dealt with a hip injury before the fight. “Sugar” also opposed the judges, suggesting he won the first, third and fifth rounds.
Now, just weeks away from the mildly predicted rematch at UFC 316, O’Malley’s coach has added another excuse to Pile, claiming that nasty lighting in the sphere contributed to the fighter’s inactive show.
“I re-watched the fight multiple times on Slow Mo. There were a lot of shots that barely missed the inch that completely changed the fight. I think a lot of that had to do with the sphere and lighting,” Welch argued in an interview with ESPN MMA.
“And I feel that it should not only happen in our lives, but in our injuries.
Tim Welch Dubs dvalishvili “The Best Bantamweight of All Time”
Despite many excuses, Welch quickly praised Dvalishvili’s skills and named Georgian the greatest bantamweight of all time.
“I really don’t know how they’re arguing just by looking at his records that Merab is not the best ever. There have been bantamweights where a lot of champions beat in a row. I don’t think I’m out there. It’s very easy to say Merab is the best bantamweight ever,” admitted Welch.
O’Malley will obtain another crack at Dvaliszvili on June 7th. At that time, the promotion returns to Prudential Center in New Jersey, with two titles being driven by tilts. In addition to “Sugar” vs. “Machine,” fans will see Julianna Pena place a female bantamweight strap on the line with two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison.
