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Sean O’Malley has sought help from one of the greatest fighters of all time ahead of UFC 316.
O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) runs things back with bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in the June 7 headliner at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. He will look to avenge his title loss to Dvalishvili at UFC 306 this past September.
O’Malley has trained with former UFC champions Israel Adesanya and Demetrious Johnson in attempt to regain his title. His head coach Tim Welch reflected on a key aspect they worked on when training with ex-UFC flyweight champ Johnson.
“I learned a bunch from him just in the clinch,” Welch said on his YouTube channel. “He pressures you so hard, forces you to reach out for him, to reach out and grab him, and as soon as you reach out and grab him, he just rifles those knees up the middle – just by getting in your face, moving, moving, moving. Maybe (he’s) slipping a punch and being in the corner of your shoulder and not get out of your face where you have to reach for him, and as soon as you reach, his twitchiness and his explosiveness with those knees is so quick.
“You saw it firsthand against Henry Cejudo – he put him out so easy. That’s his bread and butter. … That’s one thing that really surprised me is just when I grabbed a hold of him. I was asking him some questions in the clinch and he was just moving around, doing all these different things. I’m like, ‘F*ck – he’s a black belt in the clinch.'”
O’Malley discussed his experience training with Johnson, as well.
“It felt like kind of what I expected – even more, though,” O’Malley said. “His speed and athleticism – that was cool. It was very different than Israel Adesanya. It was just way different being in front of him, but it was cool. Obviously, he’s one of the greatest of all time and you watch him fight someone and you could realize that. But then him being in front of you, you’re like, ‘Yeah, OK – that makes sense.”
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