Mike Malott does not concern himself with the ramblings of Kevin Holland.
This Saturday, Malott faces off with Holland in the co-main event of UFC Vancouver. It’s the Canadian’s second crack at breaking
into the welterweight top 15, and he’s embracing the opportunity with open arms.
“I was happy to get the opportunity to fight for a ranked position,” Malott told reporters at UFC Vancouver media day. “… I feel so much more prepared for this second run at the rankings. I’m way ahead of where I was a few years ago. I feel like my skill has considerably increased since then, and I’ve matured as a fighter. I feel a lot more comfortable being here. It’s not as much like, ‘Whoa, this is the UFC!’”
Malott first had a shot at moving into the welterweight rankings last year when he faced off with Neil Magny at UFC 297 in Toronto, but Magny pulled off an incredible last-minute comeback to hand the Canadian his first UFC loss. Since then, “Proper” has picked up two more wins in the division, earning him another chance to break into the top 15, and his opponent couldn’t be more different.
A staple of the UFC’s welterweight division for over a decade, Magny is a relatively quiet, respectful fighter. In contrast, Holland was dubbed “Big Mouth” by UFC CEO Dana White for his habit of talking trash to opponents not just before the fight, but during it as well. With that in mind, Malott has done his best to prepare for Holland’s mental warfare on Saturday.
“The last guy I fought, Charles Radtke, talked a lot of trash beforehand, but not so much when we got in there,” Malott said. “I don’t know if [Kevin Holland] has been talking any trash so far, but I assume when we’re in there, he’ll be talking a lot of trash. We prepared for that with my training partners, just talking trash all camp, when we’re drilling, when we’re sparring, having my mental coach cageside yelling at me in sparring and during fight simulations and stuff. So I feel very well-prepared and comfortable to deal with that.”
In fact, Holland has already been talking a bit of smack beforehand. Though he called Malott “a wonderful fighter” (h/t MMA Junkie) he also said he mistook Malott for fellow welterweight Jake Matthews when agreeing to the fight, and declared that Malott is not near the level of competition he has historically lost to. But Malott isn’t concerned with all that.
“The other thing that I heard was that he didn’t know he was fighting me, so I’m wondering how he knows what my skill level is like if that’s the case,” Malott said. “But yeah, it doesn’t matter to me what he says. The reason I’m so confident going into this fight is the preparation that I put in and the skills that I bring to the octagon, and everything I put in the last few months. This camp went so well. I’m so ready. I’m the best I’ve ever been by a long shot. So no matter what anybody says, that doesn’t change the preparation that I put in.”
UFC Vancouver takes place this Saturday at Rogers Arena with a middleweight matchup between Reinier de Ridder and Brendan Allen headlining the card.
