Sean O'Malley's coach claims The Sphere's lighting contributed to Noche UFC loss against Merab Dvalishvili 

Sean O'Malley lost his bantamweight title last year to Merab Dvalishvili at Noche UFC. Recently, O'Malley's coach, Tim Welch, reflected on the unique lighting in the arena that he feels may have had an impact on the fight.

Noche UFC 2024 was held at The Sphere in Las Vegas, which is an exceptional building built for a specific architectural experience. The promotion wanted to make the event special and went all in to give fans a unique experience by providing high production value, including significant lighting.

In an interview with ESPN MMA, Welch claimed that the production at The Sphere may have impacted O'Malley's performance, saying:

"I rewatched the fight in slow-mo so many times. There were tons and tons of shots that barely missed by inches that would have completely changed the fight, and I think a lot of it had to do with the Sphere and the lighting."

Check out Tim Welch's comments below (3:51):

In addition to the lighting difficulties claimed by Welch, it later came to light that O'Malley entered the fight with an existing hip injury. He underwent surgery immediately after the Noche UFC defeat.

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Tim Welch shares his prediction for Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O'Malley 2

Sean O'Malley is set for his rematch against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316 on June 7. Unlike their first meeting, which resulted in a unanimous decision in favor of Dvalishvili, O'Malley's coach believes a different result will follow in the rematch.

During the aforementioned interview with ESPN MMA, Tim Welch expressed confidence in his fighter's ability to knock out the UFC bantamweight champion at UFC 316, saying:

"The shape he's in right now, it's hard for me not to bet that Sean's going to TKO him. He's going to find [Dvalishvili's] chin at some point. If Merab takes a shot at the wrong time, Sean's reactions are so good that he could be sleeping. So I'm thinking he's gonna TKO him." [15:12]