Fast-rising Canadian star Mike Malott
is getting his shot at a name in January.
The news coming courtesy of
MMA Fighting on Thursday, Malott (10-1) will come to blows with
grizzled veteran Neil Magny
(28-11) at UFC 297.
The two welterweights will battle it out inside of the Scotiabank
Arena in Toronto, and the bout will likely be placed on the main
card. Malott confirmed the
matchup on his Instagram shortly after its announcement.
Winner of six straight – all by stoppage – Malott surged into the
Octagon in 2022 and has rattled off finishes over Mickey
Gall, Yohan
Lainesse and Adam Fugitt
in the span of about 14 months. As a professional, “Proper Mike”
has only heard the final bell one time, in a draw with Ousmane
Thomas Diagne at Bellator 142 in 2015. With 10 wins inside the
distance on his ledger, all but one have taken place in Round
1.
Magny has alternated wins and losses in his last six outings dating
back to 2022. While he succumbed to submissions from Shavkat
Rakhmonov and Gilbert
Burns, along with a decision setback against Ian Garry in
his most recent appearance, he celebrates triumphs over Daniel
Rodriguez, Max Griffin
and Philip Rowe
in the same stretch. Since joining the promotion in 2013, “The
Haitian Sensation” has set the
Ultimate Fighting ChampionshipUFC welterweight records for the
most fights (31), wins (21) and decision victories (14) among
several others in his storied tenure.
UFC 297 goes down at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Jan. 20,
where there is currently no headliner on board. Featherweight champ
Alexander
Volkanovski was once linked for a title defense against
Ilia
Topuria, but Volkanovski opted to vie for the 155-pound strap
on short notice. Key matchups on the billing thus far include a
featherweight scrap between Movsar
Evloev and Arnold
Allen, as well as a middleweight throwdown of Chris
Curtis vs. Marc-Andre
Barriault.