Only a few weeks after the title Rematch of Sean O'Malley against Merab Dvalishvili on UFC 316, his head coach Tim Welch has made a new excuse for his UFC 306 loss.
On June 7, Sean O'Malley seems to take revenge on Merab Dvalishvili when he tries to reclaim his Bantamweight title on UFC 316.
The Georgian dominated completely 'Suga' in their first meeting at UFC 306, in what was a historically unique event in the atmosphere.
After the fight, news came out that O'Malley was fighting a torn Labrum and claimed that he was unable to struggle for most of his training camp.
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
O'Malley's head coach blames Bol's relief for embarrassing loss
But now only a few weeks after their rematch at UFC 316 in Newark, the head coach of O'Malley, Tim Welch, has made a new excuse why 'Suga' has lost the first collision.
Because the event had taken place from De Bol in Las Vegas, it was a complete spectacle and the UFC made it a unique experience.
Of course the ball is only one huge LED screen, and prior to the event, UFC boss Dana White was asked if the LED lighting would distract hunters during the fighting.
And now, months away from the event, Welch has claimed that the bulb lighting was the reason for the shameful loss of O'Malley.
“I have looked at the fight so many times in slow-mov. There were tons and tons that barely missed by centimeters that would have completely changed the fight, and I think that much of it had to do with the bulb and the lighting,” Welch claimed in an interview with ESPN MMA.
“And not just the injury, I just have the feeling that that should happen in our lives. It really made us really informed as people, and looking back it was really good for us,” Welch continued.
Welch makes a huge claim about Merab Dvalishvili prior to UFC 316
Despite the countless apologies that the O'Malley team devised with regard to his loss, they have remained respectful for the skills of the machine during the feud.
So much so that Welch claimed that the Georgian is the greatest Bantamweight Jager of all time, him for the ranking of Dominick Cruz and several others.
“I don't really know how to debate that Merab is not the best of all time, just look at his record, there has ever been a Bantam weight that has defeated many champions in a row, I don't think that is there. It is pretty easy to say that Merab is the best Bantamweight ever,” Welch admitted.
If 'Suga' successfully recovers his 135LB title on UFC 316, there would be a huge potential for a historical trilogy fight between the two.