Why Sean O'Malley's coach says Ilia Topuria is lighter than Max Holloway

Sean O'Malley's trainer would rather see a fight against Ilia Topuria than against Max Holloway with a view to moving up to featherweight.

Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) defends his middleweight title against Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) in the UFC 308 headliner on October 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

O'Malley's head coach Welch praised Topuria, but after watching clips of his fights, he sees paths to victory for Holloway as well.

“I rewatched Topuria against Bryce Mitchell and he's so damn good. His shoulders are so high, he gets in close so well,” Welch said on his YouTube channel. “If you throw a punch and don't return it to the face, he's so good at countering.”

“I mean, he's pretty flat-footed and pretty immobile, and he's not the biggest. I would be zero percent surprised if Max Holloway came out, found his range, got going first, gave Topuria a lot of misses and Max made it.”

O'Malley (18-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) will defend his bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the main event of UFC 306 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+) on Saturday at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

If “The Suga Show” gets past Dvalishvili, he has expressed interest in moving up to featherweight to challenge Topuria. Welch likes how tall and lean O'Malley looks against “El Matador.”

“I just think it's a — people say, 'You fucking idiot.' I say, 'This fight is winnable,'” Welch said of Topuria. “I just really believe it is.”

For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.