Was Sean O’Malley’s Coach Tim Welch an MMA Fighter? How Dana White’s ‘Broken’ Promise Led to His Retirement

“I haven’t trained martial arts my whole life for a little 5-foot-4 guy to try to punk me out. I’ve trained my whole life and I’m only 34 years old. I’m six foot, 195 pounds” – this is what Tim Welch said in response to Merab Dvalishvili after the latter seemingly invited a fight with him. One thing is clear from the words of the TimboSugarShow host. He is no stranger to fighting. So why did he stop? That too when he’s just 34?

There are a few noted names in the MMA coaching sphere who were forced to put an untimely stop to their MMA careers owing to repetitive injuries. The UFC bantamweight star Sean O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, has a similar story about the end of his professional MMA career. Today, let’s shine some light on how he went from combatant to coach.

How did Sean O’Malley and Tim Welch meet?

The first time Welch met Sean O’Malley was when he was still fighting for Bellator FC, while ‘Suga’ was a 16-year-old amateur fighter. Talking about the time, he said, “I saw him kickboxing, and I thought he was a pretty athletic kid and it looks like he’s pretty comfortable in there. I’m like, we’ll see if he sticks with it.”

But it was a couple of years later when O’Malley fought Luis Carranza at Intense Championship Fighting 10, that O’Malley impressed Welch and urged him to send an invite to his gym. He revealed that ‘Suga’ was pretty active in Montana and as soon as Welch gave him the opportunity to join the prestigious MMA Lab, he was left with no option but to say yes.

Welch recalled, “He took the opportunity and came down to train. He got beat up really bad the first week and I didn’t think I’d see him again. And he went back home, saved up $2,000, packed his car and moved down.”

So, what was Tim Welch’s own MMA journey like? Surprisingly, he was once set to join the UFC before Dana White dashed those dreams. Intrigued? Let’s dive in.

Was Tim Welch in the UFC? MMA record

Welch has never stepped foot inside the UFC Octagon as a contender in the promotion. But he has also fought across multiple promotions during his time in professional MMA, including a short stint at Bellator. He fought twice under the banner of Bellator FC, but his skills didn’t seem adequate enough to get him in the win column.

Welch’s first-ever fight in the world of mixed martial arts was a defeat, as he debuted at FightForce back in 2008. But then he went on to win the next 5 of his fights as an amateur contender. With his impressive amateur record, he stepped into the world of professional fighting in 2009 and won the fight with a flurry of punches in the second round.

‘Red Hawk’ made his professional MMA debut as a lightweight fighter under ‘Cagesport’ but soon moved on to fight for other promotions like ‘Intense Cage Fighting’ and ‘Fusion Fight League’. He holds a record of 14-6 in his professional MMA career that spanned from 2009 to 2017.

But the UFC never called. Not directly, at least. During an episode of Young Man Ramble with Israel Adesanya and Sean O’Malley, Welch opened up and shared, “I think it was when I was 27, about to turn 28. I’d lost my Ultimate Fighter fight. Dana said, ‘Win two more.’ I won two more. He didn’t bring me back. So, I’m like, ‘I’m going to take a third fight.’ So, I fought this pretty tough Canadian striker. And the first punch of the fight, hit me with the uppercut. Boom! I was like, ‘F—, that was a good shot, but not too hard.’ But then I couldn’t close my mouth. So, I completely broke my jaw.”

That was it. A broken jaw. A broken promise. And just like that, his fight career was over. But where one door closes, another opens, as this allowed Tim Welch to take a step back and begin his coaching journey.

Tim Welch’s coaching career

If fighting was the first act, coaching became Welch’s second. He started out under world-class mentors like John Crouch, Greg Jackson, and Robert Follis. In 2018, he earned his black belt in BJJ from Augusto ‘Tanquinho’ Mendes. Then came O’Malley’s rise.

Training at The MMA Lab in Glendale, Arizona, Welch helped mold ‘Suga’ into a sniper on the feet and a problem for anyone at 135 lbs. From spinning kicks to sniping counters, Welch’s fingerprints are all over O’Malley’s game.

He’s also the founder of Red Hawk Academy and frequently shares his love for jiu-jitsu, wellness, and combat psychology on social media and his podcast. But his greatest claim? As stated on his official website, “Tim is the youngest coach to have a fighter (Suga Sean O’Malley) become the UFC Champion!”

Yet, his coaching advice has come under fire, mostly due to his antics from the Octagon side at UFC 306. So, what happened?

Coach Welch’s questionable tactics from Octagon side

At UFC 306, during O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili, cameras caught a heated moment between Welch and Dvalishvili. Right after the opening bell, Welch was heard yelling, “Merab, you might need to be patient, bud.”

When the Georgian tried to respond to Welch, he was given a warning by Referee Herb Dean. At the same time, Dvalishvili’s cornerman, Aljamain Sterling chimed in with a protest as he yelled at the referee that “He’s talking to him! Herb, Herb, he’s talking to him!” Dean simply replied, “Do your job, I’ll do mine.” After the fight, Welch confessed, “So I didn’t realize there was a rule that if you have a callout, it can’t be the other guy’s name.”

In conclusion, Tim Welch never became a UFC fighter. But that didn’t stop him from becoming one of its most influential coaches. With Sean O’Malley now challenging for the bantamweight crown against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316, all eyes will be on the fighter. 

But maybe just as many voices might now be directed at the man in his corner. While Dana White’s promise may have failed Welch as a fighter, it lit the fire for a coaching career that’s become impossible to ignore!