Coach Tim Welch has shared that ahead of an expected title defense against Merab Dvalishvili, Sean O’Malley is now primarily focused on improving his ground game.
If Merab Dvalishvili is indeed next to face Sean O’Malley for the UFC bantamweight title as many expect, the champion will need to make sure that his takedown defense and ground game are on point for the wrestling-heavy Georgian.
Luckily, coach Tim Welch is already working on a plan to turn ‘Suga’ into a more well-rounded athlete; should Dvalishvili get Sean O’Malley to the ground, the veteran trainer teases the world might just witness his first submission win since 2015.
Coach Tim Welch wants Sean O’Malley to get a more refined ground game
Even before winning the UFC bantamweight title, fans were concerned that Sean O’Malley wouldn’t be able to withstand the wrestling onslaughts of the division’s top grapplers: Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili.
Whilst the flashy American was able to dispatch Sterling via a round two TKO in 2023, arguably the sterner test will be against the 17-4 Georgian wrestling machine; with Dana White confirming back in February that Merab will be next in line for a title shot.
This week, coach Tim Welch joined UFC legend Demetrious Johnson on the Mighty YouTube channel to discuss the areas in which Sean O’Malley needs to improve upon – unsurprisingly, the veteran trainer pointed to the floor:
“For my other athletes, it’s just all the simple stuff. For Sean, he’s not even close to how good he could be at jiu-jitsu and he’s [already] good at jiu-jitsu, he’s got a brown belt…He’s got very dangerous front headlocks, he’s very flexible, his guard is very dangerous but it’s not as dangerous as it could be.”
Welch noted that their advantage will be that “people haven’t even seen it yet,” with O’Malley having only two submission wins on his professional record to date – a leglock and rear naked choke, both of which came in 2015.
“We still have great wrestlers so his wrestling can improve, his jiu-jitsu can improve and he’s not even as close to as good as he could be, and his body is still developing – he’s still putting on more strength and getting more durable.”
Welch also praised O’Malley for his attitude towards improving his skills outside of training camps: “He knows that the time outside of the fight camp, that’s the time to actually improve your skills and add more tools to the toolbox.”
“He knows that too [and] he’s been pretty smart about that – he knows how good he can get on the ground,” said the fan-favorite trainer.
Whilst O’Malley and Welch might be preparing for a ground war, Dvalishvili recently predicted that he will finish the champion on the feet.