"A big cage, and the size difference and the speed difference..." – Sean O'Malley's coach feels 'Sugar' could make Petr Yan "look stupid" at UFC 280
Sean O'Malley's coach Tim Welch recently weighed in on 'Sugar's upcoming clash at UFC 280.
O'Malley is all set to take on Petr Yan in a high-profile bantamweight matchup at UFC 280. The event is scheduled for October 22 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The fight is touted to be the toughest test of O'Malley's career, 'No Mercy' has defeated the likes of Jose Aldo and Cory Sandhagen whereas 'Sugar' is yet to register a win against a ranked bantamweight.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Welch discussed how Sean O'Malley would fare against 'No Mercy' at UFC 280. The 27-year-old's coach acknowledged Yan as a formidable opponent for 'Sugar'. However, Welch opined that O'Malley's size, speed, and accuracy would prove decisive against 'No Mercy'.
"The size difference, the matchup, I know how good of a striker he is. Sean [O'Malley] knows how good of a striker he is. We train with super-elite people. We train with very good strikers too and all the people that he spars that are that size, he makes them look stupid."
He continued:
"And Petr's probably a little bit another level than a lot of them and he's going to be really tough. But a big cage and the size difference, and the speed difference, and the accuracy of Sean and how good he is at punching at range, I feel like Sean could make Petr look stupid."
You can check out Tim Welch's full interview with Submission Radio below:
Paul Felder discusses Sean O'Malley vs. Petr Yan
UFC commentator Paul Felder believes both Sean O'Malley and Petr Yan have equal opportunities to gain or lose from their upcoming fight.
In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, 'The Irish Dragon' put forth his thoughts on the upcoming matchup:
"For Petr Yan, you've got the opportunity to shut this kid [O'Malley] up. You've got this brash, big ego, all this energy and so much name behind him. Petr Yan has got the skills, but namewise maybe not as much as Sean [O'Malley]. Both guys have great opportunities to take what the other one has."
You can check out the interview below (5:40):