Tim Welch clarifies UFC 306 message to Sean O’Malley: ‘I got out of the bad situation’

Coach Tim Welch received a lot of criticism for how he handled Sean O’Malley’s corner at UFC 306.

O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost his bantamweight title by unanimous decision to Merab Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) in Saturday’s main event at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Dvalishvili’s coach, UFC Hall of Famer Matt Serra, believes Welch showed no sense of urgency as his fighter was down in the final five minutes of the fight. Welch responded to the backlash and clarified what he meant when he was heard telling O’Malley “we’re almost done with this” in the fifth round.

“It came out the wrong way. I meant to say, ‘We’re almost done with this,’ like, ‘You can kill him at any time,’” Welch told ESPN. “But also, I’ve known Sean for 12 years. I know what’s going on in his head and I keep him confident. I always forget that the cameras are rolling on my mic and all that. I want him to keep his head down. It sounded a lot worse than it actually was. I just wanted to say, ‘This fight is almost over. We’re almost done with this, you can kill him at any time.’ But it came out the wrong way and it sounded stupid.”

O’Malley is scheduled to undergo surgery on Oct. 3 to repair a torn labrum in his left hip, which he suffered 10 weeks before his fight with Dvalishvili. Welch expects O’Malley to be motivated in his return and doesn’t think he’s missing out on big opportunities.

“This is the perfect time to practice what we preach all the time,” Welch said. “I’ve been fighting for a long time. I know at some point you’re probably going to lose. If you keep fighting the best on planet Earth in your weight class, you’re going to lose eventually.”

“I think every fight Sean has is going to be a big fight. The preparation is going to be big, he’s a real showman, and I think it’s going to be like every fight Nate Diaz has. Every fight Jorge Masvidal has is a big fight. So I think it’s going to be the same for Sean, and I think right now, it’s going to really fire him up.”

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s UFC 306 event hub.