Sean O’Malley plans on being a bigger star than Conor McGregor one day. ‘Suga’ has indeed taken baby steps to this end, having already won a title and defended it twice. Now, however, he faces perhaps the toughest opponent of his life- Merab Dvalishvili. He will face ‘The Machine’ and his world-class wrestling, incredible gas tank, and champion mindset on the top of UFC 306 in the iconic ‘Sphere’ in Las Vegas this September 14.

The matchup, of course, is a classic striker vs. wrestler contest, which almost always comes down to whether or not the wrestler can take down the striker and maul them on the ground. Or, on the other end, if the striker is able to keep the fight on the feet long enough to stop or pick apart the wrestler. However, Dvalishvili, despite his clear advantages on the ground, wants to go toe-to-toe with O’Malley. But the 135-pound champion’s coach thinks Dvalishvili is simply not good enough to do that.

Sean O’Malley coach reveals why ‘The Machine’ will change plans as soon as fight starts

So mad is Merab Dvalishvili at all the disrespect and insults Sean O’Malley has hurled at him in the run-up to their much-awaited clash that he has promised to “beat the sh**” out of” Suga’ at the latter’s “own game” promising to fight him “Mexican style” (i.e., the relentless pressure, always-moving-forward style of boxing made famous by the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Marco Antonio Barrera, and most recently Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez).

However, when UFC journalist ‘The Schmo’ asked O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch what he thought of ‘The Machine’s claims of striking with ‘Suga’, the Canelo look-alike was sure that ‘The Machine’ would not do that. While Welch did not doubt that the Georgian indeed would plan on striking with his student coming in, he would realize that ‘Suga’s striking was just too good for him.

“Merab is going to be shooting in the first 30 seconds of the fight, he’s going to realize
the distance is different, the speed’s different, everything’s completely different than what he’s used to sparring. And he’s going to realize that early on, so he’s going to really have to bite down and take some risks and go,” he said.

Once this realization sets in within the first minute of their fight, the coach sees Dvalishvili doing what he does best and trying to take the fight to the ground. But Dvalishvili doesn’t need to strike with O’Malley as the champ’s coach already thinks he is the most dangerous opponent ‘Suga’ has ever faced.

Welch gives his threat assessment of Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Dvalishvili may have accused Tim Welch of being “disrespectful”, “a snake”, and promised to “smack his face”, the coach was quite respectful of ‘The Machine’ and his abilities in his interview with ‘The Schmo’. The coach did not hesitate to admit that the Georgian was the ‘toughest’ challenge of ‘Suga’s entire fighting career so far. Citing Dvalishvili’s durability, relentlessness, and ever-dangerous wrestling, Welch thought that the Georgian would be a very serious challenge indeed.

“I think so. I mean I think he’s the toughest scariest opponent he’s the only thing that’s on our mind right now, so definitely he’s the toughest, scariest opponent for the ‘Suga Show,'” he said.

However, these concerns seem not to be shared by O’Malley himself. After all, the champ has dismissed the idea that Merab will be much of a challenge for his wrestling, let alone having any chance of beating him on the feet. Speaking to ESPN in a recent interview, the rainbow-haired Montana native claimed that he plans to pull an ‘Aljo’ on Merab and knock him out early before he even has a chance to take him down. What are your predictions for their UFC 306 clash?