Following the conclusion of UFC 306, Tim Welch, the coach of Merab Dvalishvili, has revealed that he had a strong inkling that his fighter would pose a significant challenge. This insight may explain Welch's actions at the start of Saturday night's main event at Sphere in Las Vegas, which left viewers puzzled.

Just 10 seconds into the bantamweight title fight between Dvalishvili and champion Sean O'Malley, an unexpected moment occurred. Dvalishvili pointed and started yelling in the direction of O'Malley's corner, leading referee Herb Dean to call time and reprimand him. Even the UFC 306 commentary team, consisting of Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier, and Jon Anik, were left baffled by the incident.

During the broadcast, in-cage audio shed some light on the bizarre occurrence. Dean can be heard addressing Dvalishvili, cautioning him, "Merab, don't start this. Do not talk to him. That's my job." Dean also had words for Welch after resuming the fight, asserting, "Do your job, I'll do mine," to O'Malley's head coach.

Attempting to provide clarification, Welch released a video on his YouTube channel, downplaying the situation. "First round (he) comes out, and what I said to Merab was, 'Merab, you need to be patient.' And that's when he freaked out," explained Welch. He further added, "He started bucking himself around. I was like, 'Holy cow, I just said Merab, be patient.' He must've been anticipating that a little bit, but I really wasn't going out of my way to yell. But I did say that. I guess there is an excessive coaching (rule), but I told Herb Dean some of our callouts have Merab's name in it, and he said, 'Nope, nope, nope.' So, that ended."

Adding his perspective to the incident, Dvalishvili admitted that he had the image of Welch calling out his good friend Aljamain Sterling's name at a previous UFC event in his mind. In a post on X, Dvalishvili wrote, "Everyone is asking what happened at the start of the fight - I was trying to stay professional and focus on the fight only, not wanting to change the energy of the fight." He went on to explain that he yelled back at O'Malley's corner, asking them to "cut it out and coach your own guy," as he recalled a similar incident involving Aljo. Dvalishvili expressed disappointment in the lack of sportsmanship, calling the actions disrespectful.

Welch expressed surprise at the intensity of Dvalishvili's reaction, stating, "I was surprised at how much he freaked out. He let his emotions freaking get to him in there, but it didn't do anything. Didn't matter one bit. Like I said, we knew how good that guy was."

Despite the early taunting, Dvalishvili's performance was not affected. He went on to dominate O'Malley for a full 25 minutes, securing a unanimous decision victory and claiming the bantamweight title.

UFC 306 showcased not only the physical prowess of both Dvalishvili and O'Malley but also the dynamics and tensions that can arise between coaches and fighters.