Sean O’Malley’s Coach Comes Clean on Controversial Sparring Session That KO’d Alexandre Pantoja

Not too long ago, Sean O’Malley had a back-and-forth with flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja on social media. The bantamweight champion went on to reveal that he had knocked out the Brazilian in the past during a sparring session. That claim has now been confirmed by his coach, Tim Welch, recently on the ‘Red Hawk Recap‘ show on YouTube.

Alexandre Pantoja recently admitted to wanting to move up a division. He specifically wanted to fight for the 135 lbs belt against Sean O’Malley, and Tim Welch has now weighed in on the situation. ‘Suga’ then recalled the time when Pantoja came in to spar with the bantamweight champion, as he revealed what unfolded during that session.

Tim Welch confirms Sean O’Malley KO’d Alexandre Pantoja

Sean O’Malley’s coach was talking about the prospect of watching a fight between Alexandre Pantoja and his champion fighter when he revealed the story of the sparring session between the two. Almost half a decade ago, the flyweight champion came into Welch’s gym for a sparring session. Interestingly, O’Malley and his coach were up the night before doing what they do and killing time. Welch said, “He did come in. He came in with Henry, and ‘Sug’ and I got done hitting the bong all night.”

He further mentioned that the sparring session between Alexandre Pantoja and Sean O’Malley was set for three rounds of five minutes each, but ‘Suga’ wasn’t aware of it. The flyweight champion could not handle what the bantamweight was throwing at him, and he got knocked out in the opening round of the session.

“He did not know he’s going to spar this Pantoja guy and Henry puts him right in. Pantoja for three five-minute rounds and ‘Sug’ TKO’d him in the first round,” Tim Welch added. After recalling the sparring session, O’Malley’s coach also revealed if he wanted to watch Pantoja taking on ‘Suga’, and he was not opposed to it.

Welch is open to see O’Malley fight Pantoja

Tim Welch mentioned that despite getting knocked out in the first round, Alexandre Pantoja showed great grit and determination as he stood back up. He continued to spar with Sean O’Malley for the rest of two rounds before calling it quits, a mentality that made the Brazilian a champion in the UFC. Welch further stated, “They ended up going the second and third.”

When it comes to the idea of a fight between Sean O’Malley and Alexandre Pantoja, Tim Welch seemed to be in favor of that taking place. Moreover, ‘Suga’ recently claimed that a fight against the flyweight champion would be an easy money fight for him, so there’s no reason why he would not take the matchup if presented to him. However, Welch claims that O’Malley may have to defend his title a few more times, especially against budding contenders like Merab Dvalishvili. “I would be pumped about that fight, but then we got these killers [Merab Dvalishvili] ahead of us already,” he added.

Read More: “The Greasy Hair Really Helped Me Stay Balanced” – Sean O’Malley on Marlon Chito Vera’s Allegations

Apart from Sean O’Malley receiving a challenge from Alexandre Pantoja, the bantamweight champion expressed his desire to fight Ilia Topuria. However, both of those fights seem unlikely to happen soon for the same reason Tim Welch already mentioned: having to fight some upcoming 135-pound title contenders first. It remains to be seen how things shape up for ‘Suga’ in the months to come.

Also Read: UFC News: Sean O’Malley Almost Confirms Next Title Defense, Sidelining Ilia Topuria Rivalry