Mike
Malott gets his first UFC headlining opportunity on Saturday. |
Getty/UFC
If it wasn’t for one “bad minute,” Mike Malott
might still be an undefeated fighter in UFC competition.
Likely up on the scorecards against Neil Magny at
UFC 297, the 34-year-old Canadian faded badly in the waning moments
en route to losing via technical knockout at the 4:45 mark of Round
3. What turned out to be a monumental comeback for Magny was a
learning experience for Malott.
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“Ran into an issue in that one fight I lost; stuff came up in that
one and I grew a lot from it, learned to humble myself in certain
ways,” Malott told UFC.com. “I know I’m an elite-level fighter,
but recognizing that ‘Hey man — sometimes you’re fighting the best
guys in the world and you don’t need to force a finish’ [is really
important]. I didn’t need to force a finish in that fight; I could
have coasted to a decision and won, and looking back, that’s one of
the things I changed… People love to bring that fight up, and
rightfully so — that was the one fight that I showed some areas
that needed growth — but I think when you zoom out and look at my
career, I had a bad minute in that fight, and outside of that, I’ve
fought really well my entire UFC career. Every other fight, I’ve
clearly won, either by stoppage or a very clear decision, and then
I dominated that fight, other than the last minute.
“I’ve had a pretty friggin’ good run so far; there is that to keep
in mind.”
Malott will compete for the first time this year when he meets
former welterweight title challenger Gilbert
Burns in the UFC
Winnipeg headliner on Saturday at the Canada Life Centre in
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Malott, who is 6-1 in the
UFC since earning a contract on
Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, has gradually faced more
difficult competition during his promotional tenure. That, in turn,
allowed him to gain more Octagon experience by going the distance
in victories over the likes of Trevin
Giles and Kevin
Holland.
Gaining Valuable Experience
“I almost have it in two different groups right now: my first four
UFC fights, including Contender Series — four really tough guys,
mostly Contender Series-style guys and then Mickey
Gall, and ran through those guys,” Malott said. “The last four
that I’ve fought, I’ve still had really good performances, but
these guys aren’t Contender Series guys who might be able to hang
in the UFC; these are guys with tons of experience and are smashing
those guys who might be able to make it.
“If you’re not one of the best in the world, any of those four guys
(Magny, Giles, Holland, Charles
Radtke) is gonna whoop somebody’s ass. Those four are on a
completely different level, and I think something to note too with
the growth — and we’ve talked about this before — but we got back
to that Neil Magny
fight and my experience in the UFC and fighting in the last seven
years before that was 15 minutes of cage time… Now, including that
UFC 297 fight, went to the end of the third there, then went to a
decision my next fight, second round knocked out against ‘Chuck
Buffalo,’ and then went the distance against Holland. The amount of
experience I’ve gotten relative to the amount of experience I had
before is like I’ve tripled my fight time.”
While gaining experience is important, Malott emphasizes that his
goal is to finish fights. For the most part he’s done that: Of his
13 professional wins, 11 have come inside the distance. Those two
decision wins — over Holland and Giles — have occurred within the
last two years.
“Again, I pride myself on being a dangerous fighter, on my
finishing ability, and I still have a very high finishing
percentage,” he said. “When I’m in there — I didn’t finish Holland
last time, but when I’m throwing punches, I’m not throwing little
tic-tac-toe punches; I’m trying to put a hole in this guy’s head
and he’s a slick, slippery vet who knows how to stay safe… You
grow, you move up the rankings against better and better guys who
have experience against better guys, and sometimes you have to just
take what’s in front of you rather than just forcing things.”
The 39-year-old Burns, who enters UFC Winnipeg on a four-bout skid,
is nonetheless Malott’s most accomplished foe to date. The Team
Alpha Male product is confident he has done everything necessary to
prepare for the Brazilian veteran.
“I’ve turned every stone; done everything I could possibly do to be
the most prepared I’ve ever been,” he said. “That mixed with the
fact that I know I’m gonna give it everything I’ve got when I get
in there is a really reassuring feeling. I feel ready. I’ve done
everything that I need to do, I have everything that I need to have
for this fight; I’m looking forward to actually getting in
there.”
Malott is looking forward to taking the next step in his evolution
while also fighting in a UFC headliner in his home country.
“At the end of the day, this is something I’ve wanted since I was
13 years old, man,” Malott said. “I’ve been dreaming of this every
single day for close to 20 years — to get to make that walk — and
to be in the main event is pretty special.”