One of the highlights from the UFC’s return to Atlanta led to one fighter earning comparisons to one of the biggest stars in the sport.
UFC 316 didn’t go to plan for Sean O’Malley despite his extensive preparations for his rematch with Merab Dvalishvili.
While Dvalishvili continues to cement himself as one of the greatest bantamweights of all time, it’s back to the drawing board for O’Malley before ‘Suga’ attempts to bounce back.
One fighter who also has a lot of momentum behind him right now shares a common opponent with O’Malley following his recent hometown outing in Atlanta.
Malcolm Wellmaker is starting to make a real name for himself in the UFC but at this moment in time, he doesn’t mind having his name mentioned next to the former bantamweight champion’s.
Malcolm Wellmaker is happy to hear the Sean O’Malley comparisons after making quick work of Kris Moutinho
On June 14, Malcolm Wellmaker made his second appearance inside the Octagon having earned a UFC contract via last year’s season of Dana White’s Contender Series.
After earning a spot on the roster with a first-round knockout, he replicated this on his debut in April where he stopped Cameron Saaiman in just under two minutes.
In Atlanta, Wellmaker remained undefeated and picked up a second consecutive performance of the night bonus by putting Kris Moutinho away in the first round.
His devastating right hook was the highlight of the night and it was only made more impressive by how durable we’ve seen Moutinho be in the past.
This was his third appearance inside the Octagon having previously lost back-to-back fights in the UFC before going on a win streak that earned him this short notice opportunity.
Moutinho first introduced himself to fans back at UFC 264 in 2021 where he took an absolute beating from Sean O’Malley on short notice before the referee waved the fight off with less than 30 seconds left on the clock.
‘Suga’ landed 230 significant strikes on that night before putting him away while Wellmaker only needed 25.
He said in a recent interview with Inside Fighting that though he has a lot of respect for what O’Malley has accomplished in the UFC, he likes hearing about how he was able to put Moutinho away in much more devastating fashion.
“That’s exactly what I was expecting and I’m very happy with it. The amount of people that I’ve seen online make that comparison, mention his name next to mine and say I did something that he couldn’t is something that feels good to hear. It’s not as if I don’t respect what he did, but I think that I made a big statement by going out there and knocking him out in the first.”
Malcolm Wellmaker was grateful to receive props from Henry Cejudo
After delivering the highlight of the night this past Saturday, Malcolm Wellmaker was pleased to receive some praise from some big names.
Since his fight, a video has been released which shows the undefeated rising star practicing the shot that he used to knock Kris Moutinho out with.
When he was asked about people giving him credit after the win, Wellmaker highlighted a message from former two-weight UFC champion Henry Cejudo, specifically stating that he was happy that ‘Triple C’ went further than simply highlighting the knockout itself.
“One of them that was awesome too was Henry Cejudo, man. Henry Cejudo said that he thought I was the real deal after what I did and I appreciate that respect because it says that he sees that there was more to what I did than just hitting him with a right hand. I put in work to set that knockout up and somebody as great as him sees that there was quality to it.”