New video showing Sean O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, giving instructions to opponent has surfaced on social media.

Tim Welch yells instructions to Aljamain Sterling (via Imago/X)

Anything can happen in the crazy world of combat sports. A recent footage of the UFC 292 title fight featured one of the most bizarre moments inside the UFC octagon.

This incident included Sean O’Malley and Aljamain Sterling, but they were not the main characters. O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, took center stage this time.

This incident occurred during last year’s blockbuster UFC 292 event.

Sean O’Malley pulled off a massive upset by knocking out Aljamain Sterling to capture the bantamweight title.

However, new footage has emerged showing O’Malley’s coach may have played an unintentional role in the finish.

In the midst of the tense title fight, a clip reveals O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, shouting from the corner. However, his words were directed at the wrong fighter.

As Sterling pressed forward, Welch yelled, “Aljo, you gotta go!” Seconds later, Sterling rushed in and ate a huge right hand from Sean O’Malley that sent him crashing to the canvas. O’Malley then swarmed with ground strikes for the memorable knockout victory. This started O’Malley’s reign as the bantamweight champion.

Coaches typically aim to give tactical instructions to their fighters. It seemed like Welch’s advice had the opposite effect on Sterling.

This lines up very well as Sterling fought against Welch’s star pupil.

Whether it was a tactic or just a blunder, the bottom line is that Sean O’Malley walked away as the champion. Nevertheless, the new footage has become quite a sensation on social media.
Related: UFC legend makes case for Sean O’Malley vs. Jose Aldo title fight by referencing historic UFC 204 main event

Fans react to Tim Welch yelling instructions in the Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley title fight

The mixed martial arts world is still buzzing over the recently revealed video footage from UFC 292.

Sean O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, yelled seemingly counterproductive instructions at Aljamain Sterling. This came just moments before the devastating knockout finish.
Fight fans react to the newly released video (via MMA Fighting)
Fight fans took to social media to express their reactions to this recent video. Some fight fans believed that this was a setup for Sterling, and he fell for it. They believed that this cost him the belt. Others felt that this was legitimate, and Tim Welch could not be blamed for this. A subset of fans believed that this was morally wrong. Here are some of the reactions from fight fans:

The debate surrounding the ethics of this move continues. Fight fans would probably never agree on a single answer to this.

They may never know whether this was an honest mistake on Tim Welch’s part or fully intentional way to sabotage Sterling. Nevertheless, this will probably be one for the corner highlights video!

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