Sean O'Malley's coach addresses 5-foot-4 Merab Dvalishvili's callout: "We’ll see what happens"

Sean O'Malley last competed at UFC 299 where he defended his newly won bantamweight crown against Marlon 'Chito' Vera. 'Suga' earned a unanimous decision win that night over the Octagon veteran. The hard-hitting star will look to defend his title again when he faces Merab Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 306.

Tim Welch, who coaches the bantamweight champion, is involved in a back-and-forth with 'The Machine' and his camp. He recently addressed the No.1-ranked bantamweight in an interview with Denis Shkuratov of Submission Radio, stating:

"Initially, I thought it was because I said we’re going to target his nose in an interview, which isn’t a lie. I mean, it’s not a lie, and I’ve never really said fighting words to those guys, but then Merab tweeted out and said, 'Next time I see you, I’m going to take care of it' or something. And it’s like, come on, brother."

He continued:

"I haven’t trained martial arts my whole life for a little 5-foot-4 guy to try to punk me out. I’ve trained my whole life, and I’m only 34 years old. I’m six foot, 195 pounds. It’s like, alright, alright, well, we’ll see what happens."

Check out Tim Welch's comments on Merab Dvalishvili below (starting at the 6:15 mark):

Welch followed by noting that Merab Dvalishvili poses a serious threat and that is where the focus of Sean O'Malley's camp lies. He did, however, later claim that his team will not cower if problems arise during UFC 306 fight week.

Aljamain Sterling recently addressed Sean O'Malley's coach

Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili have built a strong relationship. Their bond was evident when the two refused to face one another despite the former being champion and the latter being the top-ranked contender. 'Funk Master' came to the defense of his teammate when discussing Tim Welch in a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, stating:

"Tim Welch wishes he could do half of what Merab and I have accomplished. Wishes. So weight classes or not, there’s a skill difference between the three of us, and I think he understands that. Whether it’s a street fight, cage fight, it doesn’t matter. I’m not even trying to take it there. Let’s just call it what it is. If you’re trying to sit there and say, 'I wish you would, see what will happen'. If your coach is really about that life, have him get froggy and leap. It’s that simple."

Check out Aljamain Sterling's full comments on Sean O'Malley's camp below:

Sterling noted that the focus of Dvalishvili's camp is the upcoming clash with Sean O'Malley, which will mark the first title opportunity of the latter's UFC career.