“The Machine” believes he’s leveling up.
Rising Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight prospect Malcolm Wellmaker returns to action against UFC newcomer Juan Diaz in the featured bout of UFC Vegas 117 this weekend (Sat., May 16, 2026) inside the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Wellmaker suffered the first loss of his professional career late last year when he dropped an upset decision to short-notice replacement Ethyn Ewing, abruptly slowing the momentum he built from back-to-back knockout
wins over Cameron Saaiman (watch highlights) and Kris Moutinho (watch highlights).
Following the defeat, Wellmaker initially wanted to get back into the cage immediately to erase the loss from his mind. But as time passed, the 30-year-old realized he needed to slow things down and make meaningful adjustments instead of rushing back.
“It was tough, man, because last year I competed really frequently and I was itching to get back in there,” Wellmaker told UFC.com during media day. “I was calling my manager asking about this day, asking about that day, but after I realized it was going to be a little bit longer, I took advantage of that time.”
“I settled down, talked to my coaches and we focused on technical improvement — sharpening the mind instead of going super hard and breaking down the body,” he continued. “So the time turned out to be very developmental for me.”
Wellmaker also admitted that becoming a full-time fighter created unexpected problems.
After quitting his full-time job last year, he overloaded himself with constant training and eventually burned out.
“I went from working 40-50 hours a week and fitting training around that to having a full schedule to put as many training blocks in it as I could — and that’s where I made the mistake,” Wellmaker explained. “I overshot it.”
“When I first tried to nail down what my week would look like as a full-time athlete, I was going two-a-days every day for seven days,” he added. “That is so unrealistic. I got to a point where I wasn’t able to maintain that type of output — burnout and small injuries. I learned there is a fine line.”
While the first loss still stings, Wellmaker believes the setback ultimately forced him to evolve both mentally and physically.
Now, he returns against another dangerous opponent hoping to show that “The Machine” is still very much one of the UFC’s most explosive Bantamweight prospects.
And yes — the goal remains the same: another viral knockout.
