Mike Malott, the 34-year-old Canadian riding a four-fight winning streak, will headline UFC Edmonton against Joaquin Buckley, the American ranked No. 10 at welterweight. Fresh from victories over Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland, Malott views a meeting with a top-10 opponent as the natural next step in his career. "It's a top-10 opponent. It's what we need. It's clearly the next step," he said. Buckley, by contrast, arrives on the back of successive defeats by Kamaru Usman and Sean Brady.
The blueprint looks clear. Former UFC champion Belal Muhammad believes Malott can outwrestle Buckley and outpoint him on the scorecards. "I just think that I see Malott just taking him down again and controlling him on the ground," Muhammad explained, though he warned that Buckley's knockout power could punish any lapse in the Canadian's defence. With a 14-2-1 record, Malott is now pushing to establish himself among the welterweight elite.
