Tag: Mike Malott

MMA Junkie’s 2024 Comeback of the Year: Neil Magny turns tables on Mike Malott

At UFC 297, Neil Magny seemed doomed – until he pulled a Reverse Uno card on Mike Malott in enemy territory.

When it seemed like there was no hope for him at UFC 297, [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] showed the world that things aren’t always as they seem.

Dominated for nearly 14 minutes in enemy territory in Toronto, Magny turned the tables on surging Canadian prospect [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] for a TKO at 4:45 of Round 3.

Mounted in Round 2, Magny was taken down early in Round 3. What seemed like was going to be a wash, rinse, and repeat decision for Malott reached an improbable climax. Magny stood up and shot for a takedown on Malott, who pulled for a guillotine.

Big mistake.

With less than two minutes left on the clock, Magny went to work from guard on top. He stood up and landed some ground-and-pound on the downed Malott, who attempted to grab hold of a leg for a kneebar.

Malott rolled in a torque attempt, and Magny gained a better position. He eventually shifted to side control – then mount. Much to the disbelief of those in attendance and those watching around the world, Magny swarmed Malott.

As Magny gained power and momentum, Malott faded. After dozens of ground-and-pound shots landed, referee Kevin MacDonald stepped in and waved off the fight.

Given the sheer improbability of the moment and the exertion of the rally, Magny’s UFC 297 win over Malott earns the 2024 MMA Junkie Comeback of the Year award.

Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Renato Moicano (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Jalin Turner (red gloves) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Honorable Mentions

While these didn’t take the top spot for best comeback in 2024, check out other plot-twist victories that deserve recognition:

Mike Malott explains why he didn’t try to finish Trevin Giles at UFC Fight Night 246

Mike Malott explains the reason behind his less aggressive than usual win at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 246.

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] had to go against his nature in his return to the octagon.

The UFC welterweight entered Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 246 with an 100 percent finishing rate, but had to spoil that personal statistic for his bout against Trevin Giles (16-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC). Malott (11-2-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) wanted to get his first ever victory by decision, and also wanted to avoid losing a second straight fight, as he was coming off a TKO defeat to veteran Neil Magny.

“I felt like I had to check the ego a little bit in this one,” Malott told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 246 post-fight press conference. “I pride myself on putting guys away, and I’m like, ‘Look, if you get the stoppage, that’s amazing. If you get 15 minutes of cage time and win a 15-minute decision, that’s amazing. Just get back on the winning track and we can focus on the rest later.’ I was genuinely happy to get those 15 minutes of experience and feel that cage time.”

The Malott vs. Giles fight wasn’t the most exciting bout on the card, but Malott is OK with that. The Canadian was mainly focused on getting back in the win column, and also felt comfortable going to the decision.

Malott thinks it was up to Giles to look for the finish, not him.

“I had a few moments in there where I was like, ‘All right, let’s beat this dude’s ass – put it on him.’ But look, man, I felt I was winning pretty much the whole fight, and it felt like I was in control of the fight for the most part,” Malott said. “I felt it was 30-27. I know he had some moments, especially at the beginning of the second, but nothing that really hurt or anything, just optics that didn’t look good. I felt I was picking him apart. I felt like I was getting the better shots. … I felt I was en route to win a decision. If anything, the responsibility lies on him to take risk. I’m winning right now – I don’t need to take those massive risks.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

UFC Fight Night 246 post-event facts: Edmonton return produces third-longest card in UFC history

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 246, which was the third-longest event in UFC history in terms of fight time.

UFC Fight Night 246 on Saturday opened the promotion’s November event schedule with a 13-fight lineup that went down at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

In the main event, former flyweight champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (22-8-2 MMA, 10-4-2 UFC) returned from a self-imposed hiatus with force to batter and bloody [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] (17-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) for five rounds en route to a unanimous decision.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 246.

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The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $196,500.

[autotag]Dustin Stoltzfus[/autotag], [autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag], [autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag], [autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag]. earned $50,000 UFC Fight Night 246 fight-night bonuses.

UFC Fight Night 246 had an announced attendance of 16,439 for a live gate of $2,600,463.

Betting favorites went 11-2 on the card.

Betting favorites improved to 27-10 in UFC headliners this year.

Total fight time for the 13-bout card was 3:06:38.

The 3:06:38 of total fight time marked the third-longest event in UFC history behind UFC 263 (3:19:32) and UFC 251 (3:07:27).

Moreno improved to 7-3-2 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in September 2019.

Moreno’s 10 victories in UFC flyweight competition are tied for fourth-most in divisional history behind Demetrious Johnson (13), Joseph Benavidez (13) and Alexandre Pantoja (12).

Moreno has earned four of his 10 UFC victories by decision.

Albazi has suffered both of his career losses by decision.

Albazi has completed at least one takedown against all six of his UFC opponents.

[autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) has earned four of her seven UFC victories by decision.

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] (13-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) fell to 2-2 since she moved up to the women’s flyweight division in September 2023.

Namajunas has suffered five of her seven career losses by decision.

[autotag]Brendson Ribeiro[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.

[autotag]Caio Machado[/autotag] (8-4-1 MMA, 0-3 UFC) was unsuccessful in his light heavyweight debut.

Machado has suffered all four of his career losses by decision.

[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has earned both of her UFC stoppage victories by submission.

[autotag]Ariane da Silva[/autotag] (17-10 MMA, 6-7 UFC) suffered the first submission loss of her career.

[autotag]Dustin Stoltzfus[/autotag] (15-7 MMA, 2-6 UFC) has earned two of his three UFC victories by stoppage.

[autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] (11-2-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) earned the first decision victory of his career.

[autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag] (16-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) fell to 2-4 since he dropped to the welterweight division in January 2022.

Giles suffered the first decision loss of his career.

[autotag]Aiemann Zahabi[/autotag]’s (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at bantamweight is tied for the third-longest active streak in the division behind Merab Dvalishvili (10) and Mario Bautista (seven).

Zahabi has earned four of his six UFC victories by decision.

[autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] (20-10 MMA, 10-10 UFC) fell to 1-5 with one no contest in his past seven fights dating back to August 2021.

Munhoz has suffered all 10 of his career losses by decision.

[autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag] (16-8-1 MMA, 7-7-1 UFC) was successful in his UFC bantamweight debut.

Jourdain has earned 14 of his 16 career victories by stoppage.

[autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag] (24-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) suffered his first stoppage loss with a submission defeat.

[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag] (16-5-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) improved to 3-0 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in March 2024.

Zalal has earned 13 of his 16 career victories by stoppage.

[autotag]Jack Shore[/autotag] (17-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) fell to 1-2 since he moved up to the featherweight division in March 2023.

Shore has suffered all three of his career losses by stoppage.

Shore has suffered two of his three career losses by submission.

[autotag]Chad Anheliger[/autotag] (13-8 MMA, 1-3 UFC) has suffered two of his three UFC losses by decision.

[autotag]Jamey-Lyn Horth[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has earned both of her UFC victories by decision.

[autotag]Ivana Petrovic[/autotag] (7-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered both of her career losses by decision.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.

UFC Fight Night 246 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2024 total passes $7 million

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program has now paid out more than $7 million to athletes in 2024.

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 246 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $196,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 246 took place at Rogers Place. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 246 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Brendson Ribeiro[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Caio Machado[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ariane da Silva[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Dustin Stoltzfus[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Aiemann Zahabi[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Charles Jourdain[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Victor Henry[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Youssef Zalal[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jack Shore[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Alexandr Romanov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Serhiy Sidey[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Garrett Armfield[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Cody Gibson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Chad Anheliger[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jamey-Lyn Horth[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ivana Petrovic[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2461 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,092,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $29,829,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

Mike Malott def. Trevin Giles at UFC Fight Night 246: Best photos from Edmonton

Check out the best photos from Mike Malott’s unanimous decision win over Trevin Giles at UFC Fight Night 246.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag] at UFC Fight Night 246 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photos by Perry Nelson, USA TODAY Sports; MMA Junkie; UFC)

Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 246

Mike Malott and Trevin Giles are both looking to get back on track in Canada. Which welterweight will kick off the main card with a win?

[autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] and [autotag]Trevin Giles[/autotag] meet Saturday in the main card opener of UFC Fight Night 246 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 1-4
UFC main cards, 2024: 90-85-3

Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles UFC Fight Night 246 preview

Malott (10-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) returns for his second fight of 2024, looking to erase the sting of a frustrating loss to Neil Magny in January. The result was the Dana White’s Contender Series veteran’s first loss in the UFC. Malott won his first three fights in the promotion. … Giles (16-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) has never lost three in a row, and enters his second fight of the year on a two-fight skid. Prior to being finished by Gabriel Bonfim and Carlos Prates, Giles picked up a pair of decisions over Louis Cosce and Preston Parsons.

Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles UFC Fight Night 246 expert pick, prediction

Despite having guaranteed, high-level action fights like Victor Henry vs. Charles Jourdain on the prelims, the UFC matchmakers decided to kick off the main card with a welterweight matchup between Malott and Giles.

In the matchmakers’ defense, whenever they disrespectfully go against Joe Silva’s tried and true method of booking lighter-weight men’s divisions to set proper entertainment tones, they at least pick welterweight or middleweight fights that have a high potential for finishes.

From a stylistic perspective, there are potential finishing points across the board in this fight between Malott and Giles.

Giles is the more experienced of the two, but he is also the type of fighter who can surprise you with how good he looks until spontaneously combusting at the hands of an opponent.

Whereas Malott, who can find finishes out of nowhere, is also not beyond going from cruise control to internal combustion in the blink of an eye.

Still, even though you can argue either party is untrustworthy, I can’t help but pick Malott to rise to the occasion in this spot.

The pick is Malott to score a club-and-sub in Round 2.

Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles UFC Fight Night 246 odds

The oddsmakers and the public favor the Canadian fighter, listing Malott -310 and Giles +240 via FanDuel.

Mike Malott vs. Trevin Giles UFC Fight Night 246 start time, how to watch

As the main card opening bout, Malott and Giles are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 8:05 p.m. ET (5:05 p.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

Mike Malott learned lessons from first UFC loss against Neil Magny, post-fight blowback

Mike Malott learned lessons from his first UFC loss and the monsoon of negativity on social media afterward.

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] was surprised by the end of his most recent fight as well as the immediate aftermath, but he hopes he’s better from it.

On the wrong side of a Comeback of the Year candidate, Malott (10-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) lost by third-round TKO to Neil Magny in January. Nine-and-a-half months later, Malott hopes to show off the lessons he’s learned Saturday when he takes on Trevin Giles (16-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 246 at Rogers Place.

“You’ve just got to reassess and see what went wrong,” Malott told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I feel like you do the same thing after a win, right? See what you can improve on? But it’s how much do you want to dive into that. You can write it off to being like, ‘Well, I won 14 minutes of that fight and just made a couple of bad decisions at the end and a couple things went wrong, so if I just don’t do those, then I’ll be fine next time and I beat that guy nine times out of 10. Or we can do what we did.

“It’s like, look, it’s probably the symptom of a much larger problem that we didn’t recognize as much. How do we dive into that and figure out where we can get the most growth? That’s what we did. So the last nine (or) 10 months, I’ve been focused on improvement and growth and getting back in here to be the most confident version of myself, the most prepared for the fight that I can possibly be.”

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The loss was one thing. The blowback afterward was another entirely.

Given Malott was a hot prospect pedestaled as the next torch bearer for Canadian MMA, opportunists emerged out of the digital woodwork to kick him while he was down.

“I’ll be honest. It was surprising at first,” Malott said. “I assumed there would be some negative criticism. But man, I was blown away by how many people were waiting for me to fall. But also on the opposite side, too, we can focus on that all day. There’s a ton of negativity you can focus on, but there’s also a ton of positivity. A ton of people messaged me and were like, ‘Look, man. You obviously showed some great stuff in that fight. You were winning the majority of that fight.’ It’s not like I got steamrolled for 15 minutes and have to rethink my entire game.

“Again, I think I win that fight most times. If we run that fight back however many times, I think I win the vast majority of those fights. I think I showed some solid skills in that fight, but I also showed some things that need to be improved. We just focused on what needs to be improved the last eight or nine months or whatever. Again at first, it was a little bit surprising. It got to me for the first week or two. I was really down on myself about it a little bit. But once I was able to get back in the gym and actually make or take steps toward making improvements and resolving issues, that kind of took care of itself.”

Now Malott has a shot at redemption. The circumstances are similar in some ways, as he has the opportunity to prove himself in his home country against a veteran fighter.

“It would’ve been nice to fight in July (in Denver as was scheduled), the fight that I prepared for,” Malott said, referring to his canceled bout vs. Gilbert Urbina. “But I’d much rather pull out of a fight in Denver than a fight in Edmonton. I’m excited to get back in front of those Canadian fans.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

Video: UFC Edmonton fighters react positively, indifferently to rule changes

Two new rules will debut at UFC Edmonton. Check out what the fighters have to say about these tweaks.

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – Two new rules will make their UFC debut Saturday at Rogers Place as the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) voted this past July to implement them beginning Nov. 1.

For the first time in the history of the Unified Rules of MMA, 12-6 elbows will be allowed at UFC Fight Night 246. Additionally, a “grounded fighter” is redefined as an athlete who has any part of their body besides their hands or feet on the ground.

Wednesday, MMA Junkie asked many of the event’s top participants for their thoughts on the changes from the perspective of a fighter.

Check out what they had to say about the new rules in the compilation video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.

Michael Morales vs. Neil Magny verbally agreed for UFC’s Aug. 24 Fight Night

A welterweight bout pitting Michael Morales vs. Neil Magny has been verbally agreed to for a UFC Fight Night event Aug. 24.

UFC welterweight prospect [autotag]Michael Morales[/autotag] is stepping up in competition.

The unbeaten Ecuadorian is being targeted to take on crafty veteran [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] at a UFC Fight Night event Aug. 24 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Both parties have verbally agreed to the bout, MMA Junkie confirmed with multiple people with knowledge of the matchup. The people requested anonymity because the UFC has not yet made a formal announcement of the fight.

Morales (16-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has yet to taste defeat in his professional MMA career. The 25-year-old most recently fought in November 2023 and beat Jake Matthews with a unanimous decision. Morales had been out nursing an injury, now is training and healthy.

Magny, who recently had his 40th professional fight, continues to face the young blood of the division. Magny most recently fought in January and picked up a TKO win over prospect [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] – which stands as one of the best comebacks in 2024.

With the addition, the UFC’s Aug. 24 lineup now includes:

  • Bruno Ferreira vs. Roman Kopylov
  • Gerald Meerschaert vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
  • Dennis Buzukja vs. Danny Silva
  • Jose Medina vs. Zach Reese
  • Viacheslav Borschev vs. James Llontop
  • Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Josiane Nunes
  • Felipe dos Santos vs. Andre Lima
  • Neil Magny vs. Michael Morales

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UFC Denver fight card loses two more bouts

The UFC’s return to Denver continues to take a beating.

The bad luck continues for the UFC as its summer schedule continues to be pelted by fighter withdrawals.

Most recently, the UFC on ESPN 59 event on July 13 at Ball Arena in Denver has absorbed the brunt of the blow. One day after news surfaced its main event between Maycee Barber and Rose Namajunas was canceled (with Tracy Cortez now stepping in), two undercard fights have also been pulled.

The welterweight bout between [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] and [autotag]Gilbert Urbina[/autotag] has been canceled altogether (first reported by TSN). Additionally, [autotag]MarQuel Mederos[/autotag] is out, and the promotion seeks a replacement to fight [autotag]Nazim Sadykhov[/autotag] (first reported by Octagon Update).

Two people with knowledge of the changes recently confirmed them to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Malott (10-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) later posted a video to social media in which he said Urbina (7-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) withdrew from the fight. Malott said he had previously sustained an injury, so he elected to pass on a replacement opponent.

It’s still unclear why Mederos (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) withdrew from the fight vs. Sadykhov (9-1-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC).

With the changes, the UFC on ESPN 59 in Denver includes:

  • Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez
  • Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
  • Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Muslim Salikhov
  • Mariya Agapova vs. Luana Santos
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Julian Erosa vs. Christian Rodriguez
  • Josh Fremd vs. Andre Petroski
  • Nazim Sadykhov vs. TBA

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.