One of the stars of UFC Atlanta wants to continue putting on highlight reel performances with his striking.
After earning his contract via Dana White’s Contender Series last year, Malcolm Wellmaker has had a great start to life in the UFC.
His debut saw him stop Cameron Saaiman in just under two minutes before he returned at UFC Atlanta this past weekend.
Wellmaker’s stunning knockout of Kris Moutinho earned him comparisons to Sean O’Malley with him now sharing a common opponent with the former bantamweight champion.
In order to keep his momentum going, the 31-year-old is hoping to avoid a certain style of fighter for the time being so that he can stick to what he does best.
Malcolm Wellmaker says he wants to avoid Dagestani fighters in favor of fun striking battles against exciting names
With back-to-back performance bonuses in his first two outings, Malcolm Wellmaker looks to be a potential star in the bantamweight division.
His wins over Saaiman and Moutinho have been so impressive that it would make sense for the American to get a big-name opponent next time out to really test him.
In a recent interview with Anthony Smith for his On Paper podcast, Wellmaker reacted to some of the names that he’s heard fans talk about potential matchups with.
“Adrian Yanez is one I see a lot. I think that’s a fun fight. I met him this weekend, awesome guy. He’s a nice guy. I’ve seen people toss about Payton Talbott. I think that would be a banger bruh. I’ve seen people toss around Cody Garbrandt. I would never in my heart ever want to compete against him because I love him so much but that would be a fun fight too.
“The furthest reach right now is Sean O’Malley but that’s because we both fought Kris Moutinho but even then, fights like that, I would love to share the cage with somebody like him and have a striking battle and see how his style matches up against mine.”
Wellmaker went on to say that in his pursuit of more striking clashes, he would rather avoid wrestling-heavy opponents for the time being.
He specifically mentioned fighters from Dagestan, who often bring the grappling approach that Khabib Nurmagomedov achieved lightweight dominance with, as bouts that he isn’t particularly excited about right now.
“I would like a little bit more time of having some fun striking battles before they throw me a Dagestani, you know what I’m saying. Not that I don’t want to climb up the ranks but come on brother, let’s have some more fun, get some more bonuses, you know.”
One of the names that Malcolm Wellmaker mentioned makes the most sense right now
Of the potential opponents that Malcom Wellmaker mentioned, there are two that you can probably rule out for the time being.
Payton Talbott is set to return against Felipe Lima at UFC 317 where a win would likely put his stock higher than Wellmaker’s and Sean O’Malley is still right at the top of the bantamweight division.
Cody Garbrandt would be a big name for him, and though the UFC has been known to put struggling veterans up against dangerous knockout artists, it doesn’t feel like that matchup benefits ‘No Love’.
The first name that Wellmaker referenced may be the most logical pick of them all.
Not only would Adrian Yanez make for a great style clash, as a nine-fight UFC veteran who is coming off of a loss, this would be both a suitable step up and a guaranteed banger.