Sean O’Malley’s coach recently disclosed that Merab Dvalishvili‘s wrestling stance could be unsuccessful against Umar Nurmagomedov when they compete in their bantamweight title fight at UFC 311. He highlighted how ‘Young Eagle’s team prepares him for fights and will have found an area to exploit in ‘The Machine’s wrestling.
‘Suga’s coach, Tim Welch, is no stranger to preparing for the Georgian and knows what he is capable of in the octagon, but he doesn’t believe his style will be effective against a competitor like Nurmagomedov. There have been several heated exchanges between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov, especially as it pertains to their respective grappling and wrestling.
During the latest episode of Red Hawk Recap, O’Malley’s coach told guest Luke Thomas that Nurmagomedov’s team, which includes Khabib, is very strategic with their scouting. Welch mentioned that ‘Young Eagle’s team will structure their game plan by focussing on areas in which he can cancel out Dvalishvili’s grappling and force striking exchanges:
“I think Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and that team and that grappling team, they’ve studied a lot of Merab and where he likes to cook the clock, get behind the waist…and just get rid of the time. And I think Umar is going to be able to counter that real quick…I do think Umar…can negate all those positions where Merab’s good and then on the feet, obviously, he’s way more tricky.” [17:38]
Tim Welch highlights area in which Merab Dvalishvili could have success against Umar Nurmagomedov
In addition to disclosing why he believes Merab Dvalishvili’s wrestling style won’t be effective against Umar Nurmagomedov, Tim Welch highlighted an area in which the bantamweight champion could be successful.
During the aforementioned episode, Welch mentioned that if Dvalishvili uses his relentless pace, he could find success against his pupil Sean O’Malley at Noche UFC 306:
“If Merab [Dvalishvili] comes out pushes the pace real hard in those first two-three rounds and forces [Nurmagomedov] to scramble, forces him to defend takedowns, forced him to get up and he’s real real tired, I see that’s a possibility for Merab.” [17:53]
Check out the full episode featuring Tim Welch’s comments regarding Merab Dvalishvili below