The coach of Sean O’Malley believes the former UFC bantamweight champion can be the “kryptonite” to Merab Dvalishvili.
Dvalishvili returned four months on from his victory over O’Malley to be crowned champ this past weekend, defending the title for the first time opposite undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov.
The Georgian enhanced his legacy on MMA’s biggest stage with a massive victory in the UFC 311 co-headliner, utilizing his renowned cardio and pace to outpoint his Dagestani rival across five rounds.
With the result, “The Machine” is now being firmly discussed in the division’s GOAT conversation, and many have questioned who has what it takes to unseat him at 135 pounds.
According to coach Tim Welch, the one hope is O’Malley.
“(Dvalishvili) is on a streak, I’ll tell you what,” Welch said in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel. “You could tell after that fourth round that Umar was seriously gassed; he was really tired. He did a good job wrestling. Merab was shooting a ton and Umar was doing a great job at stuffing all of his shots. If he did hit his butt, he hit his butt just for a second and popped right up. But Merab just kept that pace and cardio on him. He’s got some cardio, I’ll tell you that.
“That last 30 seconds of the fight I think really made Merab win the fight. He’s a problem, he’s a big problem,” Welch continued. “But I do believe that we can be the kryptonite to Merab with the right game plan and a good fight camp. With ‘Suge’ healthy, I think we take him out. And we’ll find out, now won’t we?”
Soon after his decision defeat to the current champ inside the Sphere last September, O’Malley headed to the surgery room for a procedure to repair a torn labrum.
Targeting a return in the second quarter of 2025, “Suga” will hope to do so in the form of an opportunity at redemption opposite Dvalishvili.
