Sean O’Malley’s coach admits that the UFC “for sure” wants ‘Sugar’ to defeat Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292

UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch feels the promotion wants him to be champion.

‘Sugar’ has been out of action since a high-profile clash with Petr Yan at UFC 280 last October. The test was the biggest of the bantamweight’s career, and he passed. O’Malley defeated ‘No Mercy’ by split decision in their bantamweight showcase last fall, earning him a title shot against ‘The Funk Master’.

The two bantamweights are currently scheduled to headline UFC 292 in August, in the company’s return to Boston. Well, that’s the plan as of now, anyway. Since the fight’s announcement, Sterling has admitted that the short turnaround might be too fast, as he needs to heal. The bantamweight champion famously defeated Henry Cejudo by split decision in his return earlier this month.

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Nonetheless, the fast turnaround has led many to believe that the fight is being pushed for the benefit of Sean O’Malley. To his credit, the bantamweight has no part in the planning of the bout, as he’s previously explained. However, that doesn’t mean the UFC doesn’t want him to win, as his trainer has noted.

The bantamweight’s coach discussed the bantamweight title fight in an appearance on The MMA Hour. There, Tim Welch stated that absolutely the UFC wants O’Malley to win at UFC 292. The coach referenced his student’s multiple highlight-reel knockouts as a major reason why.

“Well, yeah, for sure” Tim Welch stated when asked if the UFC wants Sean O’Malley to defeat Aljamain Sterling. “Having ‘Sugar’ be the champion, I mean what other bantamweight in history has just one-punched people and walked off? Like Mark Hunt. A bantamweight, tall, skinny, with tattoos and curly hair, one-punching people and walking off.”

He continued, “The UFC knows what they’re doing. ‘Sugar’ is a big superstar and the UFC helped with that so I’m sure the UFC would love to see a KO artist, that’s as flashy as Sean, be the champion.”

What do you make of these comments from Tim Welch? Are you excited about Sean O’Malley vs. Aljamain Sterling? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!