September 9, 2024 6:50 pm ET
Sean O’Malley’s coach would somewhat he fought Ilia Topuria than Max Holloway in a transfer as much as featherweight.
Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) defends his 145-pound title towards Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) within the UFC 308 headliner Oct. 26 at Etihad Area in Abu Dhabi (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
O’Malley’s head coach, Welch, praised Topuria, however after watching clips of his fights, he sees paths to victory for Holloway.
“I watched Topuria vs. Bryce Mitchell once more, and he’s so f*cking good. His shoulders are so excessive, he’s so good at coming shut,” Welch stated on his YouTube channel. “Should you throw a punch, and also you’re not bringing it again to your face, he’s so good at counter punching.
“I imply, he’s fairly flat-footed, and he’s fairly stationary, and he isn’t the tallest man. I’d be zero % stunned if Max Holloway got here out, discovered his vary, obtained began first, made Topuria miss so much, and Max obtained it completed.” O’Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) defends his bantamweight title towards Merab Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 306 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) fundamental occasion at Sphere in Las Vegas.
If “The Suga Present” can get previous Dvalishvili, he expressed interest in moving up to featherweight to challenge Topuria. Welch likes how longer and rangier O’Malley matches up towards “El Matador.”
“I simply assume it’s a – individuals are like, ‘You f*cking fool.’ I’m like, ‘It’s a winnable combat,’” Welch stated of Topuria. “I simply actually do consider it’s.”
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