Last weekend in the main event of the UFC 306 show in Las Vegas, USA, the American lost to the Georgian by unanimous decision of the judges and forfeited his 135-pound title.
"Merab went into the octagon and showed his best side. He was moving forward like a machine. He used very timely parter transfers.
Sean is going to have surgery - I'm glad about that because once he recovers we can get back to full-on grappling practice. Right now his hip and back don't allow him to train for long periods of time. We couldn't practice wrestling to the extent necessary. This was a problem, which is why Sean scheduled the surgery 8 weeks ago. He knew right away that he had to do it right after the fight.
But Merab did a great job. And I believe Shawn will still get a rematch against Merab. Most likely, Shawn will be able to come back by June or July," Welch told ESPN.