Malcolm Wellmaker has already made quite a name for himself in the UFC with three blistering knockouts to start his career with the promotion, including a stunning first-round finish over Kris Moutinho in his most recent outing in June.
The undefeated prospect demolished Moutinho inside three minutes to improve his overall record to 10-0 but that win also got him a lot of attention he didn’t necessarily expect. Back in 2021, Moutinho became a bit of fan favorite following a gutsy performance against Sean O’Malley where he displayed incredible toughness and a nearly impenetrable chin.
O’Malley ultimately finished the fight with a standing TKO in the third round but watching Wellmaker faceplant the same opponent already had some fans asking for that matchup against the former UFC bantamweight champion.
“To see the names that people are already comparing me to,” Wellmaker said about the potential O’Malley fight. “People are asking my opinion on Merab [Dvalishvili] and it’s incredibly flattering. I love how much I’ve inspired people with the performances that I’ve given.
“I think one of the things that makes fighting so fun, when you go out there and you give people what they want, matchups like these become a real thing that people would love to see, that people would love to tune into. I don’t know that I’ve earned a shot at somebody with such a name but it is nonetheless a huge compliment.”
As unlikely as it seems that he’ll actually land O’Malley as an opponent, Wellmaker understands why fans are interested in seeing that fight happen.
With the common opponent between them and Wellmaker becoming one of the fastest rising stars on the entire UFC roster, he appreciates that O’Malley is already on his radar.
“[Kris Moutinho] gained his notoriety from Sean O’Malley, one of the biggest names and one of the best knockout artists that the bantamweight division has seen,” Wellmaker said. “So it was only natural that my performance be compared to his.
“So to go out there and do it in two and a half minutes, 25 strikes versus over 200 [strikes for O’Malley], it’s a feather in the cap and it’s a compliment I gladly accept.”
Wellmaker acknowledges he still has work to do when it comes to getting into the rankings and working his way up the ladder against the elite fighters in the bantamweight division.
That said, he couldn’t have imagined a better start to his UFC career with three first round knockouts in a row (including his victory on The Contender Series). Those kinds of performances are not only making Wellmaker popular amongst fans but he expects that should also result in bigger and better opportunities.
“I think the course of my last three fights is perfect,” Wellmaker said. “I knock out Adam Bramhald, who is not necessarily a known guy. I get Cameron Saaiman, who’s respected and talented and at one of the highest level camps in the world. Knock him out. Then it’s like give him Kris Moutinho and see if he can knock him out. I go out there and everybody has a good time seeing it. I think people want to see me fight those household names now.”
Not much for callouts, Wellmaker isn’t necessarily pointing his finger at any one particular opponent but he plans to stay as busy as the UFC will keep him.
More than anything, Wellmaker is grateful that he actually has time to think about that now after he quit his full time job as a welder and pipefitter to fully focus on fighting.
That decision came after Wellmaker’s UFC debut earned him a $50,000 bonus, although he admits there were some people skeptical about that decision. It definitely paid off, however, because Wellmaker scored another $50,000 bonus for his latest win as well.
“There was a lot of questions about whether it was too early for me to make such a decision,” Wellmaker said about quitting his job. “Even before the fight, the media was following up with some of those questions about what it looks like and what’s the path moving forward.
“My answer was that I was betting on myself. It paid off. It really did.”
