Tag: Sean O’Malley

Sean O’Malley’s Coach Accuses Henry Cejudo Of Quitting At UFC Seattle: ‘Knew He Had Nothing Left’

The coach of former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has become the latest to accuse Henry Cejudo of looking for a way out of his fight with Song Yadong on Saturday night. Inside Climate Pledge Arena, Cejudo fell to a third straight loss since returning from retirement. His latest setback came at the hands of […]

The coach of former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has become the latest to accuse Henry Cejudo of looking for a way out of his fight with Song Yadong on Saturday night.

Inside Climate Pledge Arena, Cejudo fell to a third straight loss since returning from retirement. His latest setback came at the hands of “The Kung Fu Kid” in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night in Seattle.

After falling behind on the scorecards, a bad eye poke in the third round ultimately prevented “Triple C” from finishing out the fight, with referee Jason Herzog waving things off at the start of the fourth.

As is often the case when a foul leads to a no contest or technical decision, Cejudo has received backlash from some for how the main event on Feb. 22 concluded.

Some have accused the 2008 Olympic gold medalist of quitting, disregarding his claim of compromised vision. Among them is Tim Welch, who’s best known for coaching a bantamweight rival of Cejudo’s in O’Malley.

“Henry knew he had nothing left for Song,” Welch wrote on X.

Cejudo has unsurprisingly not taken kindly to suggestions he sought a way out of the UFC Seattle headliner.

While he hasn’t responded directly to Welch, he did hit back at the narrative as a whole by listing the eye injuries he apparently sustained as a result of Song’s poke.

Henry Cejudo Suggests Alternative To ‘Stupid’ Sean O’Malley Rematch For Merab Dvalishvili

Ahead of his return to action this weekend, former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo has assessed the landscape of the bantamweight title picture. Merab Dvalishvili has ruled over the division since his dominant victory over Sean O’Malley at the Sphere last September. He’s defended the crown once, getting the better of undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov […]

Ahead of his return to action this weekend, former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo has assessed the landscape of the bantamweight title picture.

Merab Dvalishvili has ruled over the division since his dominant victory over Sean O’Malley at the Sphere last September. He’s defended the crown once, getting the better of undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January.

The Georgian champ has outlined his intention to remain active and put the gold on the line again in the first half of 2025. And when it comes to the opposition, one ex-foe is expecting to have the chance for redemption.

After being sidelined with a torn labrum following his title defeat in 2024, O’Malley was quick to insist that he’ll return straight into a rematch with Dvalishvili this year.

During a recent interview with Home of Fight, Cejudo rejected the notion that “Sugar” deserves a second dance with “The Machine,” instead pitching Cory Sandhagen as a better challenger.

“I think that’s stupid,” Cejudo said of Dvalishvili potentially running it back with O’Malley. “It’s not like O’Malley’s a pay-per-view king. Like, his fights don’t do sh*t, man. I think the person that they should give him (is) Sandhagen.

“Sandhagen makes a lot of sense. Sandhagen could potentially beat him,” Cejudo continued. “I mean, I still think Merab beats him, but he has the tools to really shut out Merab’s freaking lights. That’s the cool thing about it.”

“The Sandman” is coming off a defeat to Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi last August.

Cejudo, meanwhile, is still seeking the first win of his comeback, having lost back-to-back outings opposite Aljamain Sterling and Dvalishvili since returning from retirement.

“Triple C” will hope the long-awaited triumph finally arrives next weekend, when he headlines the UFC’s return to Seattle against Song Yadong.

Coach Insists ‘Healthy’ Sean O’Malley Can Be The One To Beat Merab Dvalishvili After Watching UFC 311 Performance 

The coach of Sean O’Malley believes the former UFC bantamweight champion can be the “kryptonite” to Merab Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili returned four months on from his victory over O’Malley to be crowned champ this past weekend, defending the title for the first time opposite undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov. The Georgian enhanced his legacy on MMA’s biggest […]

The coach of Sean O’Malley believes the former UFC bantamweight champion can be the “kryptonite” to Merab Dvalishvili.

Dvalishvili returned four months on from his victory over O’Malley to be crowned champ this past weekend, defending the title for the first time opposite undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov.

The Georgian enhanced his legacy on MMA’s biggest stage with a massive victory in the UFC 311 co-headliner, utilizing his renowned cardio and pace to outpoint his Dagestani rival across five rounds.

With the result, “The Machine” is now being firmly discussed in the division’s GOAT conversation, and many have questioned who has what it takes to unseat him at 135 pounds.

According to coach Tim Welch, the one hope is O’Malley.

“(Dvalishvili) is on a streak, I’ll tell you what,” Welch said in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel. “You could tell after that fourth round that Umar was seriously gassed; he was really tired. He did a good job wrestling. Merab was shooting a ton and Umar was doing a great job at stuffing all of his shots. If he did hit his butt, he hit his butt just for a second and popped right up. But Merab just kept that pace and cardio on him. He’s got some cardio, I’ll tell you that.

“That last 30 seconds of the fight I think really made Merab win the fight. He’s a problem, he’s a big problem,” Welch continued. “But I do believe that we can be the kryptonite to Merab with the right game plan and a good fight camp. With ‘Suge’ healthy, I think we take him out. And we’ll find out, now won’t we?”

Soon after his decision defeat to the current champ inside the Sphere last September, O’Malley headed to the surgery room for a procedure to repair a torn labrum.

Targeting a return in the second quarter of 2025, “Suga” will hope to do so in the form of an opportunity at redemption opposite Dvalishvili.

Coach: Social Media Detox Will Take Sean O’Malley To The ‘Next Level’

Sean O’Malley’s coach is confident of seeing an improved iteration of the former UFC bantamweight champion following a change to his approach in 2025. Not many fighters have been able to accumulate the kind of social media following and presence that O’Malley has since rising to prominent on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. From YouTube […]

Sean O’Malley’s coach is confident of seeing an improved iteration of the former UFC bantamweight champion following a change to his approach in 2025.

Not many fighters have been able to accumulate the kind of social media following and presence that O’Malley has since rising to prominent on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. From YouTube and X to Instagram and Snapchat, “Suga” has long been active in building his brand online.

But that looks set to change moving forward after O’Malley was thrust off the 135-pound throne by Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 last September.

That result seems to have brought about a significant adjustment for “Suga” as he gears up for his pursuit of regaining the crown in 2025, with the Montana native revealing plans to take a break from social media.

During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, coach Tim Welch expressed his support for the decision, suggesting that an O’Malley who is focused on nothing but the cage will mark a dangerous proposition for his opponents.

“He’s worked so hard for years on these socials, and you’d be surprised by the amount of money he makes on them, it’s crazy, but it’s like, right now, to win in this top five, you’ve got to be focused on your training,” Welch said. “Being creative on Instagram, being creative on Snapchat, being creative on YouTube, and then worried about all your deliverables (and) when they’ll be posted – your mind’s thinking about all this stuff, and it takes more energy than you think.

“Every single person wants you on their podcast, every single person wants you at their party, celebs (and) athletes, they’re messaging you asking to hang out and you’re just taking all this in,” Welch continued. “So for him to put it all down, to put Snapchat down, to put Instagram down, put the YouTube down; he needs to do that and it’s going to be able to take him to the next level.”

While O’Malley is without a fight date in the calendar after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum post-title loss to Dvalishvili, he is expecting to return in competition for the bantamweight gold in quarter two of 2025.

Should that come to fruition, “Suga’s” opponent will be decided next weekend at UFC 311, where “The Machine” is set to defend his gold for the first time against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.

Coach: Social Media Detox Will Take Sean O’Malley To The ‘Next Level’

Sean O’Malley’s coach is confident of seeing an improved iteration of the former UFC bantamweight champion following a change to his approach in 2025. Not many fighters have been able to accumulate the kind of social media following and presence that O’Malley has since rising to prominent on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. From YouTube […]

Sean O’Malley’s coach is confident of seeing an improved iteration of the former UFC bantamweight champion following a change to his approach in 2025.

Not many fighters have been able to accumulate the kind of social media following and presence that O’Malley has since rising to prominent on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. From YouTube and X to Instagram and Snapchat, “Suga” has long been active in building his brand online.

But that looks set to change moving forward after O’Malley was thrust off the 135-pound throne by Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 last September.

That result seems to have brought about a significant adjustment for “Suga” as he gears up for his pursuit of regaining the crown in 2025, with the Montana native revealing plans to take a break from social media.

During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, coach Tim Welch expressed his support for the decision, suggesting that an O’Malley who is focused on nothing but the cage will mark a dangerous proposition for his opponents.

“He’s worked so hard for years on these socials, and you’d be surprised by the amount of money he makes on them, it’s crazy, but it’s like, right now, to win in this top five, you’ve got to be focused on your training,” Welch said. “Being creative on Instagram, being creative on Snapchat, being creative on YouTube, and then worried about all your deliverables (and) when they’ll be posted – your mind’s thinking about all this stuff, and it takes more energy than you think.

“Every single person wants you on their podcast, every single person wants you at their party, celebs (and) athletes, they’re messaging you asking to hang out and you’re just taking all this in,” Welch continued. “So for him to put it all down, to put Snapchat down, to put Instagram down, put the YouTube down; he needs to do that and it’s going to be able to take him to the next level.”

While O’Malley is without a fight date in the calendar after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum post-title loss to Dvalishvili, he is expecting to return in competition for the bantamweight gold in quarter two of 2025.

Should that come to fruition, “Suga’s” opponent will be decided next weekend at UFC 311, where “The Machine” is set to defend his gold for the first time against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.

Coach: Social Media Detox Will Take Sean O’Malley To The ‘Next Level’

Sean O’Malley’s coach is confident of seeing an improved iteration of the former UFC bantamweight champion following a change to his approach in 2025. Not many fighters have been able to accumulate the kind of social media following and presence that O’Malley has since rising to prominent on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. From YouTube […]

Sean O’Malley’s coach is confident of seeing an improved iteration of the former UFC bantamweight champion following a change to his approach in 2025.

Not many fighters have been able to accumulate the kind of social media following and presence that O’Malley has since rising to prominent on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage. From YouTube and X to Instagram and Snapchat, “Suga” has long been active in building his brand online.

But that looks set to change moving forward after O’Malley was thrust off the 135-pound throne by Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 last September.

That result seems to have brought about a significant adjustment for “Suga” as he gears up for his pursuit of regaining the crown in 2025, with the Montana native revealing plans to take a break from social media.

During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, coach Tim Welch expressed his support for the decision, suggesting that an O’Malley who is focused on nothing but the cage will mark a dangerous proposition for his opponents.

“He’s worked so hard for years on these socials, and you’d be surprised by the amount of money he makes on them, it’s crazy, but it’s like, right now, to win in this top five, you’ve got to be focused on your training,” Welch said. “Being creative on Instagram, being creative on Snapchat, being creative on YouTube, and then worried about all your deliverables (and) when they’ll be posted – your mind’s thinking about all this stuff, and it takes more energy than you think.

“Every single person wants you on their podcast, every single person wants you at their party, celebs (and) athletes, they’re messaging you asking to hang out and you’re just taking all this in,” Welch continued. “So for him to put it all down, to put Snapchat down, to put Instagram down, put the YouTube down; he needs to do that and it’s going to be able to take him to the next level.”

While O’Malley is without a fight date in the calendar after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum post-title loss to Dvalishvili, he is expecting to return in competition for the bantamweight gold in quarter two of 2025.

Should that come to fruition, “Suga’s” opponent will be decided next weekend at UFC 311, where “The Machine” is set to defend his gold for the first time against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.