Merab Dvalishvili Unleashes on Tim Welch After Sean O’Malley’s Coach Gets Exposed for Alleged ‘Cheap Trick’ Against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292

 Merab Dvalishvili isn’t happy with the recent revelations about Sean O’Malley and Tim Welch’s ‘psychological warfare’ at UFC 292! On August 19 last year, O’Malley became the UFC bantamweight champion after finishing Aljamain Sterling in the second round of their fight. The spectacular finishing sequence that showcased perfect distance management and counter skills from ‘Sugar’ was also awarded the ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus!

However, in new footage from the event shared online, O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, could be heard yelling out at Sterling moments before ‘Sugar’ lands the massive punch that dropped Sterling. As such, Dvalishvili, Sterling’s training partner and friend, took to social media to blast O’Malley and his coach for their alleged ‘trickery’!  

Sean O’Malley and Tim Welch in Merab Dvalishvili’s crosshairs in light of new UFC 292 footage

In the footage shared online by Spinnin Backfist on X, Tim Welch can be heard yelling out to Aljamain Sterling during the fight. Welch yells out, “Aljo, you’ve got to go!”, shortly before ‘The Funkmaster’ overextends on a strike and gets dropped by O’Malley, leading to the fight ending barrage of ground and pound by ‘Sugar’.

It’s important to note that corners aren’t barred from yelling at opposing fighters during their fights, and while Welch’s ‘trick’ was indeed clever, ‘The Funkmaster’ has responded online by revealing he wasn’t affected by the move, “Lol people try to make anything out of nonsense. Short answer. Not at all.”

However, Merab Dvalishvili came to his friend’s aid by taking aim at O’Malley and his coach on X by stating, “I will smash O’Malley inside the cage and then smash his coach outside of the cage.”

The Georgian has been vocal about wanting to take on O’Malley as he currently holds the number 1 spot in the bantamweight rankings and is coming off an impressive unanimous decision victory over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298.

Despite Sterling’s assurance that he wasn’t affected, Dvalishvili’s loyalty to his friend is clear in his response. But in another interview, Tim Welch revealed that he was chastised by the referee at UFC 292 for his attempts to rattle ‘The Funkmaster’!

Welch reveals Marc Goddard tried to stop him from ‘tricking’ Aljamain Sterling 

According to a recent interview with MiddleEasy, Tim Welch revealed that he had attempted to rattle Aljamain Sterling during the fight but referee Marc Goddard warned him to stop it! Welch confessed that he was trying to talk to Sterling in an attempt to cause him to hesitate in his pressure against O’Malley.

Welch stated, “I wanted to freeze him up a little bit. It might’ve been worth it, might not have, but [Marc Goddard] was just saying ‘Don’t talk to Aljo’.”

He also broke down that he was aware that Sterling pressures his opponents into throwing kicks against them so that he can catch them and initiate grappling exchanges, and that’s why he tried to get into Sterling’s head to make him second guess himself.

While Sterling has been vocal about not being affected by such methods, he did end up losing the title on the night, and as such, Welch’s plan may have ended up working after all! What are your thoughts on the alleged ‘mind games’ by Sean O’Malley’s team at UFC 292? Share them with us in the comments below!