Tim Welch’s opinion of Sean O'Malley being a tough stylistic matchup for featherweight champion Ilia Topuria hasn’t changed after UFC 308.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) capped off a banner 2024 by knocking out another divisional great in Max Holloway this past Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Prior to UFC 308, Welch said he sees “flat-footed” Topuria as a more favorable matchup for O’Malley than Holloway. O’Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has since lost his bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306, but Welch still thinks a fight with Topuria could happen someday.
“I don’t think it’s past,” Welch told Submission Radio. “I mean, you never know what’s going to happen in the UFC. It’s not impossible that Volkanovski goes out there and beats Ilia Topuria. I mean, that’s possible. So, you never know, and I do think stylistically, Sean could give Ilia problems. He really could, but Ilia Topuria is a very, very scary fight.
