UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is the best of all time in the division, says Sean O’Malley’s head coach Tim Welch.
At Noche UFC last year, Merab Dvalishvili defeated Sean O’Malley to successfully capture the UFC bantamweight championship. He did so in fairly impressive fashion, but the majority of fans knew that, in all likelihood, we’d be seeing a rematch between the two at some point in the future.
Now, we have a date, with UFC 316 in Newark on June 7 playing host to Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O’Malley 2. While the majority of fans and pundits are of the belief that Merab will retain the belt, it’s incredibly hard to say given the unpredictable nature of mixed martial arts.
In a recent interview, the aforementioned Tim Welch wasn’t afraid to admit how great Merab Dvalishvili truly is.
Tim Welch praises Merab Dvalishvili
“I don’t really know how you debate that Merab’s not the best now of all time,” Welch told ESPN. “Just look at his record. Has there ever been a bantamweight who’s beat that many champions in a row? I don’t think there has. So, it’s pretty easy to say that Merab’s the best bantamweight ever right now.”
“We’re preparing for the worst,” Welch said. “We’re preparing to be stuck on bottom in half-guard, we’re preparing to be stuck on bottom in the guard, we’re preparing to be against the fence and Merab just grinding on you. We’re preparing for the worst, and last time, we didn’t get to prepare for the worst. Will it make a difference this fight? I think it will, but we’ll find out I guess.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
For Dvalishvili, this is all about cementing his status as the GOAT – which, interestingly, it seems like more and more people are getting on board with as a concept.
