Matchmaking Mike Malot After Big Win
Mike Malott got a big win under his belt at home in Canada in the main event last night and we look at who he could fight next.
Returning to fight in front of his native Canadians, Mike Malott stepped up to the occasion, scoring a brutal second-round knockout over Joaquin Buckley and earning himself a performance of the night bonus.
Extending his winning run to five straight, including back-to-back performance of the night winning bonuses in main events, Malott is quickly making a name for himself in the 170lbs division.
We take a look at who 'Proper' could face next as he looks to continue his surge towards the title.
Matchmaking Mike Malott
Leon Edwards
Despite being on a woeful losing skid, including back-to-back finish losses, Leon Edwards is still extremely dangerous and extremely talented. The former champion is currently ranked #10, and there's a chance that Malott could overtake him in the rankings on Monday.
A win over a former champion would help Malott's case for a mega fight next.
Jack Della Maddalena
Jack Della Maddalena is in a similar position to Edwards as a former champion who is on a losing skid and was finished last time out. JDM needs a drop in competition after facing Islam Makhachev and Carlos Prates back-to-back and Malott could provide that slight drop in competition.
Malott is not as established as either Makhachev or Prates but would still provide a tough test for the Australian. Like with Edwards, Malott would jump at the chance to get in there with a former champion and potentially get a big win under his belt.
Yaroslav Amosov
The outside shout would be to put two prospects against each other and match Mike Malott with Yaroslav Amosov. Although the Canadian is 34 and Amosov is 33, neither man feels like an established name in the UFC yet.
Amosov has two UFC bouts, both of which have come via finish. In his debut, he finished Neil Magny via submission before following that up with another submission over Joel Alvarez.
The winner of this fight would prove who can make the step up to the elite level of the UFC; the loser would have to go back to the drawing board. This could be an extremely competitive fight and should be the one made next.
