Tag: Mike Malott

Mike Malott plans to take Neil Magny’s ranking at UFC 297: ‘I see various paths to a finish’

Mike Malott sees his UFC 297 fight vs. Neil Magny as his chance to break into the welterweight rankings.

TORONTO – [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] sees his UFC 297 fight vs. Neil Magny as his chance to break into the welterweight rankings and take his career to the next level.

After opening his octagon tenure with three consecutive stoppage victories, Malott (10-1-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was paired up with all-time divisional wins leader Magny (28-11 MMA, 21-10 UFC) on the Jan. 20 pay-per-view card, which takes place at Scotiabank Arena.

Magny has a proven track record of being willing to take on potential rising stars at 170 pounds, and he’s derailed the hype on multiple occasions. Malott will be the next to try his luck, and he fully expects a breakthrough showcase.

“I think I’ve shown everybody already that I should be taken seriously in this division,” Malott told MMA Junkie following Tuesday’s UFC 297 on-sale press conference in Toronto. “With his fight, I’m not so much focused on him as I am the position. This is a number I’m fighting for. This is my spot on the ladder, this is my ability to start climbing in the ranks.

“This is the biggest opportunity of my fight career and I think I’ve done a really good job throughout my career of having the best performances when there’s the most on the line. So I’m expecting this to be the best performance of my career so far.”

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Malott is not looking past Magny by any stretch, but he acknowledges what winning this particular contest could do for his career. Fighters who beat Magny often go on an upward trajectory in terms of matchmaking, and with the UFC shifting broadcast partners to put a renewed focus on his native Canada in 2024 and beyond, Malott knows what type of opportunities could be on the horizon if he continues to deliver.

“If I can fight the rest of my UFC career in Canada, I absolutely would,” Malott said. “Once I get into that top 10 of fighting guys in the top 10, I think it makes sense to be co-main or main event on a Fight Night, or eventually a co-main or main event on pay-per-view. So I think we start with the No. 13. That’s obviously the most important thing. I can’t look past this. My focus is there. Once that one is done, it depends on what the UFC wants to do next.”

Although he’s been stopped multiple times during his career, Magny has proven to be one of the most durable welterweights out there during his lengthy UFC career. Malott is aware of what he’s getting into the cage with, but with a 100 percent finish rate on his recent, he made it clear he doesn’t plan on allowing Magny to survive the distance.

“I see various paths to a finish,” Malott said. “I’m never rushing to a finish. … I just end up finding finishes. I look for them consistently throughout a fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Oct. 16-22)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Oct. 16-22.

Happy to carry torch, Mike Malott eyes return at UFC’s next Canada event – preferably against a veteran

Mike Malott absolutely wants to be a part of the UFC’s next trip to Canada.

LONDON – [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] absolutely wants to be a part of the UFC’s next trip to Canada.

The octagon returned this past June at UFC 289 in Vancouver, where Malott capped off a perfect night for Canadian fighters with a submission of Adam Fugitt in Round 2. Malott (10-1-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) made the most of fight week, delivering memorable interviews before and after his fight. He’s willing to wait for the UFC’s next event in Canada before returning, so he coan relive the crowd roar from his home country.

“It feels amazing,” Malott told MMA Junkie. “I’ve been such a big fan of the sport for such a long time. I’ve been a fan of so many Canadian stars – obviously Georges St-Pierre but all the stars coming up, Mark Hominick, David Loiseau. There’s tons of guys I looked up to throughout my childhood and young years as an up-and-coming fighter.

“To be put in this position where I get to represent my country, and I got to be the last (Canadian) fighter on the card, having a bit of pressure of being the last guy to hold the fort down for the country, but I loved that pressure. I loved that feeling. It was absolutely incredible, so I’m really looking forward to hopefully my next fight being in Canada and getting to feel that again.”

With three finishes and back-to-back Performance of the Night bonuses, Malott is ready for a step up in competition. He hopes to land a more notable name to help propel his career to the next level.

“I think what makes more sense is the latter in fighting someone who either has been ranked or has been established in the UFC,” Malott said. “I fought Mickey (Gall) – Mickey is kind of like an anomaly where he’s like a vet and kind of like a prospect. Or he was young and he came up through the UFC. My last two fights were either Contender Series or short-notice guys that are newer to the UFC.

“So, I think probably they’ll give me somebody who’s a veteran next. That would make the most sense to me where like this guy has been established, he’s beaten all the guys that are decent, but hasn’t been able to beat the elite. I think of myself as an elite, so I think I should be able to definitely run through whoever that is. But we’ll see.”

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MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for June: Karine Silva’s savage kneebar

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from June 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from June 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for June.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

5 biggest takeaways from UFC 289: Is Charles Oliveira taking wrong approach to Islam Makhachev rematch?

Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 289, including Charles Oliveira’s potential error for an Islam Makhachev rematch.

What mattered most at UFC 289 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver? Here are a few post-fight musings …

UFC 289 post-event facts: Charles Oliveira sets all-time bar for finishes, bonuses

The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 289, including Amanda Nunes’ retirement resume and Charles Oliveira’s insane stats.

The UFC made its long-awaited return to Canada on Saturday with UFC 289, which took place at Rogers Arena in Vancouver and featured a clean sweep of results from fighters competing out of “The Great White North.”

Despite the Canadian success, it was a Brazilian who closed the show strong. Double UFC champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) dominated [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag] (14-7 MMA, 7-5 UFC) for five rounds in the main event, winning a unanimous decision before announcing her retirement from MMA.

For more on the numbers behind Nunes’ resume, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 289.

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UFC 289 winner Mike Malott remained laser focused after dodging disaster during railing collapse

Mike Malott said he had “bigger fish to fry” and couldn’t worry about the unexpected scary moment that happened during his UFC 289 walkout.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – [autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag] was lucky to dodge disaster at UFC 289.

An unexpected scary moment occurred Saturday night at Rogers Arena where a railing gave way as fans leaned over it to cheer on and high-five Malott just as his walkout began. The moment Malott’s signature walkout song of “Fatlip” by Sum 41 started blaring, a plethora of fans tumbled to the arena floor on top of each other in a wild scene caught on video.

It wasn’t apparent on the UFC 289 broadcast, and viewers didn’t get their first inkling of what happened until cageside commentator Daniel Cormier said, “Oh my God, somebody fell out of the stands.”

After his submission win over Adam Fugitt, Malott said the railing collapse didn’t cause him to lose focus.

“I noticed it for like a quarter of a second,” Malott said. “It fell. I kind of like jumped to the side, stepped over the gate. I was like, ‘One, that sucks for them. Two, don’t think about it, stay focused,’ and immediately forgot about it afterward.”

Malott said he didn’t even remember it happened until one of his cornermen showed him video. That’s how focused he was on what he described as “the biggest fight of my life.”

“I had bigger fish to fry. I had the biggest fight of my life in front of me,” Malott said. “I was focused on that. But like f*ck, man, that would’ve been a sh*tty way for that fight not to happen – have it (the railing) fall on your knee and then you’re on your way to the hospital or something. That would’ve sucked.”

Thankfully that’s not how things played out, and the Canadian standout was able to make the walk to the cage undeterred. In the second round, Malott landed a nice two-punch combo that stunned Fugitt and allowed him to harp on a guillotine choke for the finish.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

UFC 289 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Amanda Nunes’ $42,000 tops card

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 289 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $236,500.

VANCOUVER – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 289 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $236,500.

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 289 took place at Rogers Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 289 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Mike Malott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Adam Fugitt[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $6,000
vs. [autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Aiemann Zahabi[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Aori Qileng[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Kyle Nelson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Blake Bilder[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]David Dvorak[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Maria Oliveira[/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 2011 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 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $3,650,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $18,239,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

UFC 289 bonuses: Charles Oliveira’s statement first-round finish earns $50,000

Check out which fighters took home an extra $50,000 for their performance at UFC 289 in Vancouver.

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including one to its all-time record holder in finishes.

After UFC 289, five fighters picked up an extra $50,000 for their performances in Vancouver. Check out the winners below.