Merab Dvalishvili still can't find the humor in Tim Welch's innovative coaching methods during his world title win.
The Georgian took the bantamweight title from Welch's lead Sean O'Malley at UFC 306, but the fight had barely started when the coach was up to his old tricks again. He did a famous impression of coach Ray Longo when Aljamain Sterling faced O'Malley, which supposedly resulted in him losing the belt.
Dvalishvili was wise to his play, however, and immediately called for referee Herb Dean to stop his antics when he attempted the same move seconds into the UFC 306 main event. All of this was documented in a viral video that emerged this weekend ahead of the champion's first defense at UFC 311.
Tim Welch's unconventional coaching against Merab Dvalishvili went viral
As promotion for UFC 311 for Merab Dvalishvili's first world title defense began in earnest, fans were asked to think back on his historic title win. A record-breaking gate was earned as approximately 20,000 people gathered at the new Las Vegas Sphere venue after a dramatic build-up.
O'Malley was ultimately outmatched by Dvalishvili's impressive wrestling and lost his title in a relatively uneventful match. In fact, one of the highlights came in the first few seconds when American coach Tim Welch used his brutal pressing tactic to distract the challenger.
However, Dvalishvili was sensible and new footage posted by the UFC from Fight Night shows him making it clear to Herb Dean that a rule was being broken. Welch did something similar against his teammate Sterling, and it is believed this caused him to attack and use himself unnecessarily.
Merab Dvalishvili wasn't impressed with Sean O'Malley's corner at UFC 306
These antics didn't impress Dvalishvili at all, and he still doesn't really see the humor behind this tactic. He believes it was nastiness on his rival's part, and ultimately not in the spirit of MMA competition.
Speaking exclusively to Bloody Elbow as part of his role as ring ambassador, Dvalishvili explained: “No, it's already over, you know, they were trying to make something work. They tried to make shortcuts and now everyone has to realize that you shouldn't do this.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
“Just work, dude. Just try to beat me well, don't do these dirty things, don't do it. This is bullshit, dude. This is not how you want to win the title, to distract me, to disrespect me. I'm a real guy. You talk to me, you give me love, I give you love. If you give me hate, I'm going to beat you up, you know?'
Merab Dvalishvili also believes that Umar Nurmagomedov has taken a shortcut
And O'Malley is not the only one who, according to Dvalishvili, has taken a shorter route to the world title. He also believes Umar Nurmagomedov has been given a shot after just one big win at bantamweight.
“I never said he's not a good fighter,” he added. “I say he's a good fighter, but he takes the shortcut, you know. He cheated a bit because he didn't fight anyone and guys during their debut.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
“And then as a debutant he fought number two, you know, that's a gift and that's a shortcut. And that's not how you want to earn your title fight. That's not right. I think he should have fought one more. Maybe against Song Yadong.
“But when the UFC asked me, I said, OK, I'll fight him. But I wanted to fight in February or March. But that's what I said. Why don't I like him? Because he called me a fake champion. Moreover, he was disrespectful to my country.”
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