This past Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Vancouver, we saw a welterweight matchup with a spot in the rankings on the line. 15th ranked Kevin Holland (28-15) was looking to defend his spot in the rankings against Mike Malott (13-2-1).
This fight was a huge fight for both men, especially for Malott who was looking to break through in front of his home country. However, the first round was not going according to plan for Malott in this one. He was dropped by a big right hand from Holland and then he hit Holland with two low blows in the first round.
The second shot forced Holland to take the entire five minutes to recover and honestly, Holland never seemed to recover and was visibly in pain throughout the entire fight. The officiating in this one was horrendous and a point should’ve been taken from Malott after the second blow landed.
Nevertheless, a point was not taken and Malott took advantage of that. On all three scorecards, Malott did enough with his pressure and volume to win the final two rounds giving him the unanimous decision at UFC Vancouver.
What’s next after UFC Vancouver?
Malott certainly hasn’t earned a ton of fans today as he’s come out saying that Holland was embellishing the severity of the low blows. That said, it’s very clear when you see the replay that Holland was clearly hit low twice and Malott can be frustrated by the narrative, but the fight should’ve been a draw.
I am very curious to see what happens with the UFC rankings when they drop tomorrow. In theory, Malott should move to the 15th spot, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see someone else besides Holland or Malott occupying that spot tomorrow.
That said, I think Malott’s next opponent should be in the top fifteen regardless and that should give him the opportunity to get a clean win over ranked competition. In terms of opponents, I like him against Daniel Rodriguez next who like Malott, is coming off a win against Kevin Holland.
More about: MMA
