We’re just over a week away from the bantamweight title rematch with Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili running it back again from where they left off at UFC 306 last year at The Sphere in Las Vegas. And the buzz is already starting to build before we even reach fight week, with ‘Suga’s coach, Tim Welch, making some absurd claims about the reason why he lost the initial scrap. You won’t believe it, but UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier appeared to agree with it.

So ahead of the rematch, Tim Welch revealed that he went through the initial fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. In his assessment of the outcome of that fight, the former champ’s coach claims that he noticed how the lighting inside the $2.3 billion Last Vegas Sphere served as a hindrance for O’Malley.

“I rewatched the fight in slow-mo so many times. There were tons and tons of shots that barely missed by inches that would’ve completely changed the fight, and I think a lot of it had to do with The Sphere and the lighting,” Sean O’Malley’s coach recently told ESPN MMA. In reaction to the coach’s words, Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen, during the recent episode of their Good Guy/Bad Guy show, couldn’t stop laughing when they came across Tim Welch’s comments.

While some believe that Tim Welch was talking about the lighting of the venue, including Chael Sonnen, Daniel Cormier had a different understanding of those comments. Recalling how blown away Sean O’Malley looked when he made his walkout to the Octagon at UFC 306, ‘DC’ believes that it’s possible that the occasion and the stage where the fight took place may have given ‘Suga’ some butterflies, leading to his lackluster performance. “I think he might be right. I think he actually might be right,” Cormier stated.

“Think about this, Chael. Did you remember when Sean walked out? Did you remember how much he was like, [left speechless after checking out the Sphere]… Maybe Tim is not saying a light was shining in his eyes, so he couldn’t defend takedowns. Maybe Tim is saying that the moment got big, and the lights were too much. When Sean walked out, it was very noticeable. He was like, ‘Wow, this is amazing,'” Daniel Cormier added.

Despite sharing the absurd reason behind Sean O’Malley’s defeat at UFC 306, Tim Welch didn’t take anything away from Merab Dvalishvili. In fact, he made a massive claim about the bantamweight champion just days before the rematch at UFC 316. Here’s what he had to say.

Sean O’Malley’s coach calls Merab Dvalishvili the ‘best bantamweight ever’

Sean O’Malley really showed how much disdain he had towards Merab Dvalishvili in their initial fight, with many controversial moments. From ‘Suga’ hitting ‘The Machine’ back after the latter kissed him on the back of his neck to his coach heckling the now-champion from the corner of the Octagon—there was no love lost between the two. But both fighters reconciled later, and with that, even Tim Welch shared some kind words about Dvalishvili.

Sean O’Malley’s coach claims that Merab Dvalishvili’s record has proved that he’s indeed the greatest 135er in UFC history. “I don’t really know how you debate that Merab’s not the best of all time. Just look at his record. Has there ever been a bantamweight who’s beat that many champions in a row? I don’t think there has. It’s pretty easy to say that Merab’s the best bantamweight ever,” Tim Welch confessed.

Well, the camaraderie ends next Saturday when they finally step inside the Octagon for a second time. Sean O’Malley really took some serious steps in getting better ahead of the rematch as he took a break from social media while preparing for Merab Dvalishvili. Will that help ‘Suga’ at UFC 316, or will there be another excuse? That remains to be seen. Meanwhile, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.