Retired MMA fighter Tim Welch appeared on Demetrious Johnson’s podcast and talked about Sean O’Malley’s win over Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. Welch coaches O’Malley so he gave first-hand experience of what the training camp was like and how they prepared for the fight.
O’Malley defeated Vera at UFC 299 in a skilled manner. The UFC Bantamweight Champion dominated the fight and defended his title via unanimous decision.
Welch also opened up about Suga’s sparring routine while DJ revealed how he likes to spar. A marked difference was spotted in both. DJ claimed that he spars only when he is preparing for a fight. On the other hand, Suga’s confidence grows from hard sparring.
(Watch from 24:20 minutes)
Welch revealed that they train in Phoenix and there are some top bantamweights training there. He said, “So, the sparring we get [is] really competitive sparring and I think he [O’Malley] does get a lot of confidence from that.”
DJ responded, “I still spar when I have to get ready for a fight. I only spar when I have to get ready for fights if I’m not getting ready for a fight I’m not sparring. Ain’t nobody touching my head. I’m not taking any shots to the head whatsoever.”
Welch also declared that there is one area of the fight game that O’Malley needs to improve himself in although he is a brown belt.
Tim Welch believes Sean O’Malley can improve on jiu-jitsu
When asked what area could O’Malley improve his fight game in, Welch said, “For my other athletes, it’s just all the simple stuff. For Sean, he’s not even close to how good he could be at jiu-jitsu and he’s [already] good at jiu-jitsu, he’s got a brown belt…He’s got very dangerous front headlocks, he’s very flexible, his guard is very dangerous but it’s not as dangerous as it could be.”
‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley Jiu-Jitsu Drilling 🤙 pic.twitter.com/Ebz3ioKwkI
— Lock-In Jiu-Jitsu (@lockinjiujitsu) March 8, 2024
Welch also pointed out the fact that people have not seen O’Malley’s ground game yet. That could be an advantage in upcoming fights.
O’Malley has a record of 18-1 in his pro-MMA career. According to Tapology, O’Malley has two submission wins to his name – a leglock in his MMA debut and a rear naked choke in his third fight. Both of these came in 2015.
Tim Welch thinks Merab Dvalishvili deserves to fight Sean O’Malley next over Ilia Topuria
After winning his fight at UFC 299, O’Malley called out Ilia Topuria. O’Malley wanted to move up a division to featherweight and fight the champion. However, until recently he had not called out the backup fighter of his title fight Merab Dvalishvili. The Georgian fighter was frustrated at being ignored.
DJ asked Welch which of the two deserved to fight O’Malley next, Welch replied with the Georgian’s name. “I think Merab deserves it. He’s won 10 fights in a row,” Welch said. “If we can knock him flat and turn his nose sideways, that’ll feel good,” he added.
I WANT MARAB. 2025 will be legendary ✌🏽
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) March 15, 2024
Dvalishvili is on a 10-fight winning streak in the UFC. He last fought and defeated Henry Cejudo at UFC 298. He has also defeated former champions, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo. The Machine’s qualities as a fighter are impeccable. O’Malley claimed he would be open to fighting the Georgian in 2025 and Dvalishvili is ready to go.