Losing the title to Merab Dvalishvili was probably the best thing that happened to Sean O’Malley. Although he was the bantamweight champ before that, it was almost as if he hadn’t realized his full potential yet. Every fight seemed almost too easy for him. This is a fighter who would upload comedy skits of himself smoking cannabis and training.
However, ‘The Machine’ changed all that at UFC Noche. Not only was O’Malley defeated, he was dominated for five rounds in a manner he had never experienced before. And that made it personal for ‘Suga’ after that. It was as if the Georgian flipped a switch in him that he didn’t even know was there.
O’Malley took off social media, stopped smoking weed, masturbating, and became a family man — one who was only interested in training and hanging out with his wife and kid.
When Jake Shields went to O’Malley’s gym to see him train and film a YouTube video, he asked his coach, Tim Welch, what changed for ‘Suga’. Welch told Shields that O’Malley had simply turned his life around.
“He has been dialing in, he doesn’t go out to the club….Right now, you can’t even contact him, he doesn’t even check Instagram, he doesn’t check Twitter. You can’t even contact him if you want,” he elaborated.
Shields was amazed to hear the complete switch from the champ. This is not the same O’Malley who was champion, and would go out partying all night with the Nelk Boys and other celebrities after winning fights.
And it’s all a part of their game plan to give them the best shot to beat the champion. Since his successful hip surgery, all O’Malley has talked about is getting back his bantamweight title.
However, a section of the fanbase has questioned the UFC and Dana White for giving him an immediate title shot, since he had been overwhelmingly dominated last year.
His ability to learn enough skills to put a stop to Merab’s relentless pressure wrestling and grappling has also been put to question. To his credit, both ‘Suga‘ and his coach, Welch know how tough it is going to be to beat the man nicknamed ‘The Machine.’
However, Welch has nothing but good things to say about the Georgian champion.
O’Malley’s coach names Merab the greatest Bantamweight
Dvalishvili is a force to be reckoned with in the octagon at the moment. After losing his first two fights in the UFC, he has put on a clinic and a half every time he has fought and as a result, is on a 12-fight win streak at the moment — only behind Pound for Pound #1 Islam Makhachev’s 15.
His awkward style, relentless pressure, and never-ending gas tank make him almost impossible to beat. Pair that with the fact that he has beaten the likes of Jose Aldo, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, and Sean O’Malley, and Welch believes you’re looking at the greatest bantamweight in the history of the UFC.
In an interview with the UFC, Welch credited the champion’s record and said,“Merab’s an absolute machine, everybody knows that. Right now if you look at his resume, he’s the best bantamweight there’s ever been.”
Tim Welch has nothing but praise for Merab’s cardio:
“If you ask 90% of fighters what their worst fear is, it’s fatiguing — and Merab doesn’t even think about that.”
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He then revealed the one characteristic that separates Merab from the other fighters. “You’ll ask 90% of the fighters what your worst fear is, it’s fatiguing in the octagon. And Merab doesn’t even think about that.”
Thankfully, both Welch and O’Malley are. In the fight camp for UFC 316, the main focus has been on wrestling and grappling to counter Merab’s attempts to get any ground control time.
