“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.”
