UFC head honcho Dana White left everyone speechless earlier this month by transforming the Las Vegas architectural marvel, ‘The Sphere,’ which was originally built for concerts and movie screenings, into a fighting arena. However, despite this transformation, doubts lingered about whether this high-tech arena would impact the fighters mentally.

Even UFC executive Craig Borsari expressed his uncertainty before the fights, claiming, “We don’t know if it will distract fighters, we won’t know until late Saturday night.” Now, following the conclusion of the fight, this issue has resurfaced through Sean O’Malley’s longtime coach, Tim Welch, during a recent podcast appearance.

Did Sean O’Malley lose the title because of The Sphere?

Dana White never thought that his $20+ million project, which he labeled a “game changer” in the world of sports, would one day become the subject of scrutiny for distracting fighters, especially contributing to Sean O’Malley’s recent loss to Merab Dvalishvili. This sentiment was echoed by ‘Suga’s longtime coach, Tim Welch, on the WEIGHING IN podcast alongside Big John McCarthy.

McCarthy first brought up the suspicion about The Sphere, saying, “He had that look on his face, and he started looking around. That’s not the norm we see from Sean when he is coming out for a fight.” To this, Sean O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, nodded in agreement, claiming, “Yeah, yeah, and I’m not 100% sure. He says it really didn’t affect him, but maybe subconsciously it could have affected him a little bit. But it’s hard to say, and it’s hard to just make up an excuse, you know? I just…”

Big John McCarthy and Tim Welch’s claims are hard to accept, as Sean O’Malley wasn’t the only fighter on the UFC 306 card. The event was stacked with numerous talented fighters, and none of them have echoed similar complaints. Welch’s remarks could be seen as yet another excuse for ‘Suga’, who seems to be struggling to come to terms with his recent loss to Merab Dvalishvili.

O’Malley comes up with an excuse for his defeat against Merab Dvalishvili

Sean O’Malley’s world was turned upside down this month when his plans to emulate his idol, Conor McGregor, fell apart at the ‘one-and-done‘ UFC 306 event, where he was dethroned by Merab Dvalishvili in a brutal striker vs. grappler war. After the fight, ‘Suga’ initially accepted his defeat and blamed himself for a “lackluster” performance. However, after rewatching the fight, O’Malley changed his stance, claiming he won the 1st, 3rd, and 5th rounds, raising questions about the judges’ scorecards.

O’Malley then took to X, voicing his frustrations and challenging his critics, saying, “I challenge all you f*** little dorks that think I got my ass kicked to go and rewatch that fight. I know it’s hard to be non-biased. Rewatch it whether you f*** hate me or love me. Rewatch that fight, turn the commentary off, and tell me I did not win.”

While ‘Suga’ has a reputation for being ludicrous, he has one valid reason for his underwhelming performance. The former champion revealed after the loss that he had an injury going into the fight. His rival Henry Cejudo had hinted at the same before the event, starting a rumor that Sean O’Malley was not defending well against takedowns in his fight camp.

This could be the reason ‘Suga’ did not move around as much during the fight, or did not throw as many kicks as he usually does. Then again, kicking a grappler can be a bad idea, as proven by last weekend’s Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint-Denis fight. The Brazilian perfectly timed and caught a kick and secured a takedown. This led to some unforgiving ground and pound and a 10-8 scorecard in his favor.

What are your thoughts on Tim Welch’s remark? Do you also believe that the venue and atmosphere can contribute to a fighter’s “lackluster” performance? Drop your opinion below.