Aljamain Sterling cautions Sean O’Malley’s coach after Merab Dvalishvili altercation

Aljamain Sterling has a message for Sean O’Malley’s coach after ‘Suga’ and Merab Dvalishvili butted heads during a recent faceoff.

O’Malley and Dvalishvili will headline UFC 306 on September 14th at the Las Vegas Sphere. The UFC bantamweight title fight headlines the first major sporting event to take place at the Sphere venue.

Ahead of UFC 306, O’Malley and Dvalishvili participated in a promo shoot, in which they came face-to-face with the Sphere in the background. Tensions ramped up after filming as O’Malley and Dvalishvili traded barbs over recent trash talk by O’Malley and his coach.

Sterling, the former UFC bantamweight champion and Dvalishvili’s teammate, thinks O’Malley’s coach getting involved in pre-fight trash talk will lead to him biting off more than he can chew.

Aljamain Sterling reacts to Sean O’Malley/Merab Dvalishvili faceoff

In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Sterling weighed in on the beef between him, Dvalishvili, and coach Tim Welch.

“I know O’Malley is sitting here, ‘I wish you would fight him, there’s weight classes for a reason,’ but if we want to speak facts, Tim Welch wishes he could do half of what Merab and I have accomplished,” Sterling said. “Wishes. So weight classes are not [all that matters]. There’s a skill difference between the three of us and I think he understands that. Whether it’s a street fight, cage fight, it doesn’t matter. I’m not even trying to take it there. Let’s just call it what it is. If you’re trying to sit there and say, ‘I wish you would see what will happen,’ OK. If your coach is really about that life, have him get froggy and leap. It’s that simple.” (h/t MMA Fighting)

Sterling, Dvalishvili, O’Malley, and Welch exchanged social media threats earlier this year. During the exchanges, a street fight was proposed between Welch and Dvalishvili, although cooler heads ultimately prevailed.

Tensions are ramping up ahead of UFC 306, and Sterling will be a major part of Dvalishvili’s preparation for O’Malley. Welch and Sterling will likely come face-to-face soon, leading to a potential heated confrontation.