Just moments after the main event of UFC 306 began last September, referee Herb Dean briefly stopped the action when Merab Dvalishvili reacted to Sean O’Malley’s head coach, Tim Welch, who was shouting instructions to him from the corner.
This was a tactic Welch had employed before when O’Malley won the bantamweight title by knocking out Aljamain Sterling. He repeated the same behavior during the fight against Dvalishvili. Dean issued a warning to the coach, but ultimately, despite Welch`s constant shouting, Dvalishvili largely dominated the five-round bout and became the new UFC champion.
Following that fight, Dvalishvili’s head coach, John Wood, commented to MMA Fighting that while he respected Welch, he considered the action a “bullshit move.”
Now, Dvalishvili and O’Malley are set for a rematch headlining UFC 316 on June 7th in Newark, N.J. Unlike their previous encounter in Las Vegas, this fight will be overseen by a different athletic commission. While Wood doesn`t believe anything Welch says will actually distract Merab, he still plans to alert the referee beforehand to avoid any surprises.
“We will definitely bring it up [to the referee],” Wood told MMA Fighting. “I expect Tim will probably do it again. But honestly, feel free to talk to Merab all you want. It just motivated him more last time. So, I`m okay with it.”
Wood continued, “Tell Merab whatever you want him to do, and he might just go ahead and do it. It didn`t work [last time], and it won`t work again. I`ve stated before, do whatever you feel you need to do as a coach to get your fighter ready, whatever you think gives you an advantage, go for it.”
While coaches are technically not permitted to yell at the opposing fighter, Wood doesn’t anticipate the referee taking any severe action against Welch if he chooses to shout during UFC 316.
For his part, Wood understands the pursuit of every possible competitive edge during a fight but insists he would never resort to such methods to help Dvalishvili defend his title.
“I believe there`s actually a rule against that, but you know the old saying, `If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying,`” Wood remarked. “I personally would never feel compelled to talk to Sean or anyone else Merab is fighting to gain an advantage. So, if that`s what they do, go ahead. If it gets you more attention or clicks for your podcast or TikTok, great for you. He certainly got a lot of exposure from that.”
Wood clarified his position: “I don`t feel, nor would I ever feel, that I need to do any of that for Merab or any of my fighters. But then again, many people have had successful careers while cheating a lot, and I`m not claiming Tim is cheating – perhaps just bending the rules.”
Wood stated he holds no personal grudges against Welch or O’Malley, even if shouting at the opponent is considered illegal. He simply doesn`t understand why such a tactic is necessary between two elite fighters, viewing it as an unneeded distraction.
“I think Tim is a good coach. I like Tim personally,” Wood commented. “I don’t take any offense to it. Do I think it’s stupid? Absolutely. But I suppose they might think it worked during the fight against Aljamain Sterling, so they plan to continue. In that case, go ahead.” He concluded, “We’ll discuss it with the referees, but I don’t anticipate it being a significant issue in any way, shape, or form.”
Speaking more generally, Wood believes referees should enforce the rules more consistently during fights, an issue he sees extending far beyond a coach yelling at his fighter`s opponents.
He pointed to fouls like illegal groin strikes and eye pokes, which are routinely called but rarely result in a point deduction. This lack of consistent penalty is something Wood has never fully comprehended.
“Regarding penalties, the referees always tell you backstage, `this is your first hard warning, if you do it once, I’m taking a point.` Yet, nobody ever takes a point,” Wood observed. “You basically have to rip someone’s eyeball out or kick them square in the nuts repeatedly to even get a point [deducted]. You could kick someone in the groin four times, and then maybe they`ll start talking about it.”
He concluded by acknowledging the challenges referees face: “There`s a lot that goes into judging criteria, refereeing criteria, and I`m not criticizing the refs. They truly have the hardest job in the world. I feel for the referees and what they have to go through.”
