Mike Malott is the UFC 297 fighter to watch
Mike Malott looks to make a statement in his home country at UFC 297.
The UFC's first Pay-Per-View of 2024 will make its way back to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the first time since UFC 231.
The card will be headlined by newly crowned middleweight champion Sean Strickland and challenger Dricus Du Plessis. Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva will fight for the vacant women's bantamweight championship in the co-main event.
Local welterweight Mike Malott will feature on his second straight PPV main card against No. 13-ranked Neil Magny.
Malott fights out of Burlington, Ontario, Canada, and is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Malott started off his career 4-0 with four finishes before joining the defunct World Series of Fighting (now the PFL).
After going 2-0-1 with a stint in Bellator, Malott featured on Dana White's Contender Series and submitted his opponent 39 seconds into the first round. Malott would make his debut at UFC 273 against Mickey Gall and has since finished all three of his opponents, most recently Adam Fugitt at UFC 289.
Mike Malott will face the biggest test of his career against veteran Neil Magny
Neil Magny has 31 fights throughout his 11-year career with the UFC and has fought almost everyone in the welterweight division and now he will face Malott.
Magny debuted with the organization at UFC 157 and since then has accrued records, including the most wins in a calendar year in 2014. Magny has been on three different win streaks during his time with the UFC, including a seven-run stretch from February 2014 to May 2015.
Magny holds wins over former interim title challenger Kelvin Gastelum, former champions Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler, and former interim champion Carlos Condit. Magny is coming off a loss to top prospect Ian Machado Garry at UFC 292.
Malott has a 100 percent finish rate and looks to continue that trend against Magny. Magny will almost always hold the height and reach advantage over his opponents, and that will be the case in this fight.
Magny will have a seven-inch reach advantage over the smaller Malott, but Malott's strength will have to play a factor in this fight if he wants to keep his 7-fight unbeaten streak alive. Malott can enter the rankings with a win here and start to make some noise in the welterweight division.
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