Sean O’Malley’s coach points out big mistake by Merab Dvalishvili

Tim Welch analyzed training footage of Merab Dvalishvili.

Welch’s star pupil Sean O’Malley defends his bantamweight title against Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 306 on September 14 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Welch sees a big gap in Dvalishvili’s striking technique, which he believes O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) will exploit.

“(He) loses his balance a little bit on the punches, falls forward, and that’s something that could definitely get him in trouble here, and it’s too close to the fight now to change that,” Welch said of Dvalishvili on his YouTube channel. “He’s really lunging forward here, throwing right overhand punches and taking his back foot with him, which could get him in trouble as well. You saw that with Aljo (Sterling).”

Welch praised Dvalishvili’s pace and intensity during training.

“Merab doesn’t even control his breathing,” Welch said. “He doesn’t even think about controlling his breathing. He just breathes in, he breathes through his mouth the whole time, and he can keep the pace. That’s one thing that’s scary about him. He can keep the pace the whole time. That alone, frantic breathing, frantic pacing, that’s one of the things that makes him really dangerous.”

However, Welch doesn’t see anyone Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) can train with who can give him a good idea of ​​O’Malley’s moves. Dvalishvili’s trainer John Wood said the same about his fighter.

“I’m thankful that I don’t have to train someone against ‘Sugar’ as a coach, because it would be so hard to find sparring partners that are anywhere near as good as him,” Welch said. “And then you find sparring partners that try to imitate him. They do their best to imitate him.”

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.