Athletes
Mike Malott’s Long-Awaited Dream Comes To Fruition
Welterweight Mike Malott Represents His Home Country Of Canada Against Adam Fugitt at UFC 289: Nunes vs Aldana in Vancouver
Two weeks after making his professional mixed martial arts debut in April 2011, UFC welterweight Mike Malott sat amongst 55,000 fans at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada to watch UFC legend and fellow Canadian Georges St-Pierre fight Jake Shields at UFC 129.
After winning his professional debut in only 32 seconds via armbar and seeing one of his biggest inspirations remain champion in his home country, Malott’s drive to one day follow in St-Pierre’s footsteps reached an all-time high.
Since Malott was a kid, his dream was to represent his country on the big stage as an athlete. This Saturday, Malott will get his opportunity to do just that as he returns to compete in Canada to challenge Adam Fugitt on the main card of UFC 289: Nunes vs Aldana in Vancouver.
UFC 289 Embedded: All Episodes
“It’s been a dream of mine since before I got into MMA,” Malott said. “I’ve always kind of had that dream since being a young kid of being able to represent my country on an international stage as an athlete. As a kid I didn’t necessarily know that I was going to be a fighter, but I always knew I was a dreamer. Pumping my legs on the swing set as a kid getting higher and higher, visualizing that someday something big Is going to happen; I’m going to be in stadiums, I’m going to be in arenas and there’s going to be Canadian flags everywhere.”
Mike Malott Gets KO In His UFC Debut | UFC 273: Volkanovski vs The Korean Zombie
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Mike Malott Gets KO In His UFC Debut | UFC 273: Volkanovski vs The Korean Zombie
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In March, Malott defeated Yohan Lainesse in his second UFC fight, and since the UFC hadn’t hosted an event in Canada for over three years, Malott was prepared to head home and take some time off after earning his fifth consecutive victory. But after Malott fulfilled some media obligations, he was notified that the UFC was preparing a trip to Vancouver.
This changed all of Malott’s plans. Even though he wasn’t officially put on the card and had no leads on any opponent he could face, Malott began preparing as if he’d be the main event, knowing that an opportunity like this doesn’t come too often.
How To Watch UFC 289 In Your Country
While already having a vacation scheduled in Cuba with his fiancé and her family, Malott took four days to enjoy nice weather and spend quality time with loved ones. His relaxation only lasted so long before he began itching to get back into training, resulting in Malott doing any exercises he could while on vacation.
Despite essentially having back-to-back training camps, Malott feels more relaxed than ever coming into fight week.
“This is the best I’ve ever felt, hands down,” Malott said. “I’m the most prepared I’ve ever been. Camp went really smooth. I feel like we did quite literally everything we could for this fight. It’s oddly peaceful. Maybe part of it is fighting in Canada, maybe part of it is this is my third fight in the UFC…I’m just getting more comfortable with these trips and fighting. I only fought three months ago but I feel oddly peaceful and really calm. I did everything I can, I don’t feel like there’s any reason to be overly anxious right now, so it’s a really nice feeling going into fight week.
“It feels like all the pieces are falling where they’re supposed to. More and more things are falling in line, whether it be directly related to this fight, or the people that are joining my life, or the sponsors that are reaching out or new people I’m working with; everything seems to be building so quickly it almost seems like fate.”
UFC 289 Full Fight Card Preview
While Malott is waiting to share some of the details behind why the camp went more smoothly than ever before until after his fight this Saturday, one thing that helped Malott excel was the addition of a short-term training partner, Keanan Kellar, who unexpectedly arrived to Malott’s gym.
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“A guy who’s exactly like my opponent just showed up at our gym one day and my coach is like, ‘There’s this middleweight coming from out west, he’s going to be out here for a week,’ and he just showed up and I saw him moving around and was like, ‘Hey, let’s get a round and move together,’ and once we started the round, I was like,’ Oh, this guy’s perfect.’ So, the round ended, and we were supposed to split off and go with some other guys and I was like, ‘Hey man, can I steal you for the rest of the day?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, for sure,’ so I just worked with him,” Malott said.
At UFC 289: Nunes vs Aldana, Malott will showcase all of his improvements against Adam Fugitt. After watching various fight highlights and footage of his upcoming opponent, Malott noticed numerous mistakes that he can exploit and has curated a gameplan to pick Fugitt apart and close the show inside the distance.
Nunes vs Aldana Main Event Breakdown
“[Fugitt’s] a solid fighter,” Malott said. “He’s well rounded; good striker, good wrestler, good grappler, he can push the pace when he needs to, he can take a shot, he’s tough [and] he’s got a long reach. Having said that, I don’t think there’s an area where I don’t have him covered. I know I’m a better striker, I know I’m a better wrestler, I know I’m a better grappler. If [the fight] goes anywhere, I know I have more than enough tools to handle anything and take the fight to where I want it to be.
“These are big moments, and everyone has ups and downs leading up to fights,” Malott said. “I’m 3-0 with the company so far with three first round stoppages (ed note - including his Contender Series fight). Each time I felt those feelings and each time I succeeded above and beyond what I needed to do. A 15-minute decision win isn’t what I want; I want a stoppage, but, at the end of the day, a win is most important. Right behind that is a stoppage. It feels much more like a real win to get a stoppage. Having three wins with three stoppages with the company just reinforces [that] we’re doing the right things.”
UFC 289: Nunes vs Aldana took place live from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada on June 10, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
