Fast-rising welterweight bruiser Mike Malott did everything right last weekend at UFC Winnipeg.
Malott crushed former 170-pound title challenger Gilbert Burns in the UFC Winnipeg main event in Manitoba, winning his fourth straight and capturing a $100k post-fight performance bonus.
“He fumbled the bag,” retired UFC fighter and current UFC analyst, Din Thomas, said on Deep Waters (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “He fumbled the bag in inserting himself in the conversation of becoming a big star. He had a great performance, but you’ve got to do better than that.”
“He got a finish, and he’s going to move forward,” Thomas added. “But then, if not many people are excited about you, you can’t complain if you don’t get the opportunities. You can be yourself, you can stick to your guns and be a gentleman, and be that guy, but also don’t complain if you don’t get the opportunities.”
The 34 year-old Malott improved to 14-2-1 with the victory and is expected to find a spot in the updated welterweight rankings when they get released on Tuesday. As for Burns, he called it quits after dropping his fifth straight, three of which have ended by knockout.
