Malcolm
Wellmaker is reflecting on the sacrifices he made before his
third consecutive loss in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Wellmaker suffered a knockout loss to Otari
Tanzilovi at
UFC Vegas 122, dropping his promotional record to 2-3. “The
Machine” earned his UFC contract on
Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024.
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Malcolm Wellmaker reflects on third straight UFC loss after
moving his family to train at American Top Team
Wellmaker (10-3) finished his first two UFC opponents in the
opening round last year. He then suffered his first professional
defeat against Ethyn Ewing
by unanimous decision in November before losing both of his 2026
appearances by stoppage.
Wellmaker previously trained at Faglier’s MMA in Augusta, Georgia.
He moved with his family to Florida to train at
American Top Team ahead of the Tanzilovi fight.
“After taking some time to let things settle and gather my
thoughts, I have to be honest, this sh*t still really hurts,”
Wellmaker wrote on Instagram. “The whole storyline behind this
fight was that I finally left my small-town gym and went to train
with a world-class team. I left my hometown and everything I love
behind to be the best fighter I can be… and I still lost… All that
for nothing… At least that’s how it felt.”
The UFC bantamweight said his ambitions have centered on providing
for his family rather than fame or a lavish lifestyle. He described
sharing his thoughts as a way to find closure and move forward.
“I never wanted the famous, flashy lifestyle or to be remembered as
a legend,” Wellmaker added. “I just wanted to make it out and share
the success with the people I love. Retire my family early, get my
brothers out of a bind when they struggling, buy a real LV bag as a
gift for my mom or auntie or something. Nothing crazy. I always try
to be a stand-up guy. Honest, hard-working, humble, selfless,
respectful. All that. But nothing is promised. And I’m okay with
that. But damn it burns. So this is me giving myself closure,
picking myself up and knocking off the dust, once again. Gotta move
forward. Let’s see what’s next.”