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Sean O'Malley's coach recently offered a confident forecast regarding the upcoming rematch with Merab Dvalishvili. O'Malley is poised to challenge reigning bantamweight champion Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 316, scheduled for June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
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O'Malley and Dvalishvili first squared off at UFC 306 in September 2024, where 'Sugar' failed to retain his 135-pound title, suffering a unanimous decision loss after being outclassed over five rounds. Throughout the bout, the American struggled to deal with his opponent's grappling-heavy offense and was largely unable to establish his trademark striking game.
During a recent interview with ESPN MMA, O'Malley's longtime coach Tim Welch shared his thoughts on the upcoming rematch, stating that the former titleholder is in peak physical and mental condition. Welch confidently predicted that a single mistake from 'The Machine' would be all O'Malley needs to capitalize and secure a decisive finish:
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"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 Merab'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."
Check out Tim Welch's comments below (15:10):
When Merab Dvalishvili's coach broke down why the Sean O'Malley rematch will be "tricky"
During a interview with James Lynch for Sportskeeda MMA in January, Merab Dvalishvili’s head coach, John Wood, offered his perspective on the rematch with Sean O’Malley.
Wood acknowledged that O’Malley would likely make key adjustments and come in as a more dangerous opponent the second time around. However, he expressed full confidence in Dvalishvili’s abilities:
"I think that it's a two-sided sword where O'Malley's been in there with Merab... Rematches are always tricky. Merab had the element of surprise when you get in there; you've never been in there with somebody like that. Now he has, so I expect him and Tim [Welch] to come up with some game plan that would potentially shut some of the things down. But again, Merab is getting so much better at such a fast pace that I think no matter what goes on in there, he's going to be prepared."
Check out John Wood's comments below (8:50):
