Sean O'Malley reacts to first-ever training session with coach

Sean O'Malley shared a special moment with his head coach Tim Welch as they watched their first training session together.

Before becoming a UFC superstar, O’Malley was a hungry amateur fighter looking to make a dream come true. ‘Sugar’ started to evolve when he met Welch, an experienced MMA fighter who became his coach and best friend. Ten years later, the 28-year-old joined his coach to watch the first time they hit mitts together.

During a video on his YouTube channel, the No.1-ranked UFC bantamweight had this to say while watching the training video:

“Seven-eight years ago, the first pad session ‘cause I was still an amateur probably when you first started probably holding mitts for me. You were still a fighter. You were still fighting, so your main concern wasn’t me…”

O’Malley concluded by saying:

“You weren’t telling me to try to change my style, which was nice too because when I first started I didn’t really have a specific coach trying to teach me how to do a certain style. It was literally me just being an athlete and f*cking throwing punches. Some coaches would try to change me, and I wouldn’t listen… You were always working with what I had… Now we’re the best in the f***ing world.”

The partnership between O’Malley and Welch has led them to the top. ‘Sugar’ is now considered one of the biggest superstars in the UFC, with the No.1 bantamweight ranking attached to his name. It’ll be intriguing to see if the Montana native fights for the 135-pound title next or if he needs another win.

Watch Sean O'Malley and Tim Welch react to their first training session below:

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Tim Welch discusses the potential he saw in Sean O'Malley when they first started training together

Tim Welch has been by Sean O'Malley's side way before the money and fame. The former Bellator fighter started training with O’Malley a decade ago and always saw something special in him. During the same YouTube video, Welch had this to say about the early stages of working with ‘Sugar’:

“Usually, I tell people like, hey, you gotta perfect one stance, but I saw like how good when you bounced around both stances. Kind of what you threw naturally and how good your balance was both stances, so I’m like, f**k, we could put some serious s**t together.”

The UFC bantamweight division has a somewhat unclear future. Aljamain Sterling is expected to defend the title against Henry Cejudo next, but the reigning bantamweight king hasn’t determined if he wants to get surgery on his torn bicep first.

Meanwhile, top contenders like Sean O'Malley and the winners of Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen and Petr Yan vs. Merab Dvalishvili are waiting for their opportunity to fight for the bantamweight crown as well.