Malcolm Wellmaker is still feeling the fallout of his UFC Vegas 122 defeat.
“The Machine” started his UFC career with considerable momentum, picking up a thunderous pair of knockouts to establish himself as a bright new talent. Unfortunately, it all fell apart when he faced a short-notice opponent named Ethyn Ewing, who handed him his first professional defeat. A fight later, Wellmaker was choked out by another debuting foe, sending him back to the drawing board.
Ahead of UFC Vegas 122, Wellmaker uprooted
his life and switched gyms to American Top Team in the hopes of rebuilding his career. Though he started strong versus Otari Tanzilovi and stunned the Georgian in round one, he wound up falling victim to a nasty head kick that produced his third-straight loss (watch here).
Wellmaker made an initial statement to assure family and friends that he was okay, but since then, he’s been processing the loss. Now, Wellmaker is opening up about his feelings and reaction to this difficult stretch of his career.
“After taking some time to let things settle and gather my thoughts, I have to be honest, this shit 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.
“I never wanted the famous, flashy lifestyle or to be remembered as a legend. 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”
Clearly, Wellmaker is feeling the pain right now, but at least he finishes his post on an optimistic note. At the time of writing, there’s been no news about a UFC release, so the knockout artist will likely have at least one more opportunity to return to the win column inside the Octagon.
