Tim Welch addresses backlash following Sean O’Malley’s loss at Noche UFC: “I know what’s going through his mind”
Tim Welch has responded to the critics following Sean O’Malley’s loss at Noche UFC.
‘Sugar’ returned to the cage in the main event of UFC 306 on Saturday night. Back for the first time since a unanimous decision victory over Marlon Vera in March, Sean O’Malley faced Merab Dvalishvili. Heading into the bout, things were intense. Not only between O’Malley and ‘The Machine’, but also between the Georgian fighter and Tim Welch.
On fight night, things didn’t go to plan for the bantamweight champion. In round one, Dvalishvili and Tim Welch got into an argument, after the coach jokingly gave him instructions. However, it didn’t take long for the wrestler to gain the edge on Sean O’Malley. Heading into round five, ‘Sugar’ needed a finish to retain the gold.
Before round five, Tim Welch told the bantamweight champion “We are almost done with this”. That one instruction seemingly caught fans online off-guard, and many, including former UFC champion Matt Serra, didn’t like the coach’s comments. Speaking in a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Welch responded to critics of his cornerwork.
Tim Welch responds to backlash following Sean O’Malley’s Noche UFC loss
There, Tim Welch largely owned up to the criticism. The longtime coach of Sean O’Malley did admit, however, that his statement didn’t really come out the right way. He knows ‘Sugar’ very, very well, and was just trying to get to get him fired up before the fifth and final round.
“It came out the wrong way.” Tim Welch stated in the interview, when asked about his comments to Sean O’Malley before the fifth round. “I meant to say, ‘We’re almost done with this’, like, you’re going to clip him at any time. But also, I’ve known Sean for 12 years, I know what’s going through his mind and keeping him confident. I always forget those cameras are rolling on my kic and stuff, I just wanted to keep his head in it.”
He continued, “It sounded way worse than it actually was. I just meant to say ‘This fight is almost over. We’re almost done with this, you can clip him at any point’. But, it came out the wrong way and it sounded stupid.”
What do you make of these comments from Tim Welch? Who do you want to see Sean O’Malley fight in his UFC return next year?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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Sean O'Malley UFC
