Will Mike Malott Emerge From UFC 297 Tonight As A Canadian Superstar?

Tonight at UFC 297, Mike Malott has the opportunity to put on a star-making performance against the very tough and durable Neil Magny and get an official ranking in the UFC’s welterweight division. Is he up to the test? So far the fans love him, but is the talent there? We’ll also cover all the predictions for Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis’ full card including a personal favorite with Arnold Allen vs Movsar Evloev.

#ufc #mma #ufc297

2024 is here a new year to fill with all the things we love about MMA sloppy heavy weights Speedy fly weights and all the violence in between we’re kicking off the Year back in the great white North Canada for UFC 297 a card with a couple of weird title fights and a very

Tasty undercard but today we’re going to try and get back a little bit to the original point of the unfamiliar guys still going to talk about every fight on the card and I’m going to make my picks but we really want to start focusing each card on one or two things that are

Really sneaking under the radar So today we’re going to spend a little bit more time talking about Mike mot who is taking on Neil Magny this weekend and whether or not he might be the new Big Hope for Canadian MMA we’re also going to touch on my personal fight of the

Night Arnold Allen versus msar evloev but we will get onto that a little bit later I’m Max from MMA on point Thank you to our Hall of Fame remembers for making videos like this happen and this is the unfamiliar for UFC 297 first up at flyweight Malcolm Gordon

Takes on Jimmy flick the Canadian Malcolm X makes his third pay-per-view showing here and we’ve talked about him for his last two fights which he had the bad luck to get matched up with two absolute Savages from the UK Jake Hadley and Muhammad makv who both finished him

Gordon now sits at 2 and 4 in the UFC the Alberta native fell in love with jiu-jitsu as a high schooler and he told his parents he was going to be a UFC fighter he worked hard on the regional scene in Canada eventually winning the wxc belt with a 17sec knockout the TKO

Belt with some excellent Jiu-Jitsu he’s well-rounded but his submission attacks are a standout for me he’s not the greatest pressure Grappler or takedown artist in the world but from the guard he spots openings to slap on arm bars triangles and kimor everywhere we haven’t seen him much in the UFC yet

Sadly he’s definitely struggled with the Step Up in competition another guy who hasn’t reached his potential in the UFC so far is Jimmy flick this man needs to get back on track for me because I’ve never wanted to see a fight to succeed so badly if you like watching fun and

Dangerous Grapplers Jimmy flick is your boy 14 submissions on his record that’s 88% of his wins and he’s never been tapped out either Jimmy wrestled his whole life and found Jiu-Jitsu at a young age too he fought his way up to winning the LFA Title by submission

Inside 38 seconds another choke on the contender series got him a UFC debut which he won with a spectacular flying triangle choke and it made me a fan for life and then immediately retired from the sport why do you do this to me Jimmy he came back after 3 years out of the

Game and sadly he’s now riding a two-fight losing streak both by TKO and with all the ability he has he should not be bowing out of the UFC he struggles on the feet a little bit for sure he doesn’t throw faints or move his head much which makes him very

Predictable it is a little bit tight on the here but Gordon is ahead and I think I’m going to take the dog on this one Gordon does have the reach advantage on the feet but Jimmy is not going to look to entertain the Striking he’s going to

Get it down one way or another Malcolm Gordon only has a 9% takedown defense I think this one does hit the mat and I think Jimmy has a lot of advantages on the ground going into it so I’m going to take Jimmy Flick I’ll say by submission next up a strawweight Jasmine jazda

Vicious takes on Priscilla kashua Priscilla kashua continues to defy the odds after being brought into the UFC to get murdered on live television by Valentina shev shenko and going on a three-fight losing streak she rebounded her career in 2020 with a massive knockout and has gone three and two

Since then Kar has literally made a career out of hitting quite hard and being good at taking damage she absorbs 7.13 significant strikes per minute and has taken absolute beatings even in the fights that she’s won she’ll keep moving forward and swinging at you but she’s got basically no striking defense and

Even though her takedown defense is okay she has never even attempted a submission in her entire MMA career she has three submission losses so yeah pretty easy to predict as long as you don’t will under her pressure Jasmine jazzis has been very hot and cold in her

UFC run so far three wins two losses with some really impressive wins there though especially against Miranda Maverick with absolutely zero experience in any martial art before she turned 26 and just decided to give it a crack Jaz deicious has to be one of the best late

Starters in Combat Sports she went from never having thrown a punch to UFC contender in 6 years which as a six-year Jiu-Jitsu guy I don’t think I don’t think I’m ready for Leon Edwards the Canadian native picked up a contract on the contender series back in 2021 and

She has been the underdog in almost every UFC fight delivering some great upsets she’s not as hitable as kosua who I think could probably get hit by a blind one-armed nun but Jaz deicious definitely still does take her lumps her pressure is excellent she’s going to try

And rush her way into the clinch and drag her opponent down on the cage once it is down her control and her ground pound is excellent she stays heavy doesn’t really look for submissions but she just wants to put damage and control time on the board every single round

This could be one of those fights where casera just marches forward lands the big punch like a 125 lb Mark hunt but I do think her pressure could work against her here if she marches herself into the clinch and jish just takes her down from top to bottom I feel like jazz deicious

Has an edge so I will take Jasmine Jaz deicious by decision next up at 170 Johan less takes on Sam Patterson England’s Sam Patterson had his UFC debut go arai as he ate a nasty TKO loss in a fight which he was favorite to win

He’s going up a weight class to 170b in his comeback here and he needs to get a win to get his hype back as one of the great UK prospects PR that UFC debut Patterson was on a 10 fight unbeaten streak and is finishing 90% of his wins

With a really good lengthy striking game and what I like to call lanky man jiujitsu he slides those long skinny arms under the chin from all angles and wraps up a tight squeeze I like his boxing when he’s on the front foot he’s got a really sharp jab and he combos up

Quite well but he always seems to be there to get hit with power punches he uses his usually massive height and reach Advantage really well at 6’3 but now he’s coming up a weight class going to be less pronounced Johan less his opponent coming into this one is coming

In off of a loss as well a round one submission against Mike mot and at one win and two losses in the UFC he’s looking to prove the same as Patterson that he belongs here Canadian came up through cage Fury winning their welterweight belt and scoring a big

Knockout in his Contender series shot as a plus 220 Underdog which we like to see the White Lion is a big Power puncher with six first round Knockouts under his belt and some of them were spectacular too a 14-second flying knee and a body punch TKO which you know are my favorite

He’s a big lad he’s a really explosive Striker not exactly the most technical in the world his cardio can fail him too because of how he flies into his strikes and that has exposed him a bit at this higher level either way this goes this one’s ending early on the mat Sam

Patterson has the ability to wrap up a submission from anywhere but on the feet he’s very hittable and coming into this one against a bigger dude a weight class up who’s a power puncher that doesn’t spell good things for me but honestly if Sam can avoid that KO punch for a round

Or so less is going to run out of gas and then I think patteron can make it a really long night for him I’ve gone back and forth on this pick a few times and I changed it just before I started recording I am going to go with Sam

Patterson I’m going to say he gets it d by decision next up two better known ladies at strawweight Jillian Robertson takes on poana Viana two longtime strawweight contenders in the UFC here both of them coming off at losses and both probably sitting just outside the rankings despite her spotty UFC record

Jillian Robertson has proven she can submit anyone if you give her half a chance and only 28 she still has some years at this level if she can keep more W’s on her record than L’s similarly poana Viana has been snatching arm bars and scrapping it out at this level for 6

Years now with varying levels of success very similar Fighters for me and this one is a very close fight these two being Grapplers will probably hit them out at some point and I do think down there Robertson just has a little bit more of an advantage she has submitted

Girls who have submitted via so MMA math coming into play here I’m going to take Jillian Robertson I’ll say by submission next up of anom w sah said he takes on Roman TZ in a rematch from the contender series here’s a weird one both of these

Guys making their UFC debut but it’s a rematch after an early stoppage on the contender series their fight back back in September was shaping up to be a good one a onew from City end of the night the referee jumped in a bit too soon Dana called it a horrible stoppage and

After TZ came back on the show and got a knockout Dana immediately scheduled a rematch in the Big Show for these Lads maybe they paid the ref off so they could both get a contract ramont TZ fighting out of Florida was on a roll heading into that first Dana White

Contender series fight four wins on the Trot and a big knockout win that got him combat Knight Pros championship belt standing 5’8 at bantamweight he’s not a massive dude for the division but he’s got that John liner body type sh short stocky and Powerful his southp boxing is

His meat and potatoes with great hands beat and big Power in his hands tver pressures really well on the front foot and he cuts off the cage excellently before moving in to throw his combos all but one of his wins have ended by finish in the grappling Department we haven’t

Seen much to go off from Tas he’s liable to get taken down and he does have a couple of submissions on his record but he’s going to want to keep it on the feet and hunt for The Knockout definitely also a bit of a showboater on the feet with his head movement which

Could get him into trouble he takes a good shot but his only two losses have come by knockout Sur city is a very different style of fighter though 5’1 with a good reach for the weight class City uses the jab and the long kick from the outside as his main offense he’s not

Incredibly powerful but he uses footwork and faints on a much higher level than taras even if his power in the exchanges isn’t the combo that dropped Tas in their first fight was a really well-timed pull one two landed just as Tas bit on the faint it was an early

Stoppage but it was also a very clean punch another X Factor for City here is his cardio he’s never needed to go five rounds but we have seen him in the fourth round still with enough pop on his punches and gas in the tank to get a

Big knockout finish this might be a good spot for an underdog pick as it’s fair to say Tas actually had the better off City for most of their first fight but of course as much of an early stoppage as it was city did clip him and knock

Him down I do think it’s going to be a really fun scrap on the feet and both of these guys are coming in with a point to prove but I think Tas has the speed and power advantage and in a fight that’s going to play out on the feet I do think

That’s going to be a big part of it I’m going to take ramont TZ to get revenge and score a knockout next up Charles Jordan takes on Sha Woodson what an absolute cracker this one is just going to be fun all around two very technically gifted dudes who like to get

In firefights I hope they scrap it out a kickboxing range because that would be just fun to watch but we could see Jordan mix in some grappling to nullify Woodson’s pressure boxing game I’m a really big fan of sha Woodson and his boxing I mean body Knockouts but I do

Think Jordan has an edge in the experience against higher level competition and I also think his grappling could be a little bit of an X Factor here I’m just going to head Edge and say Charles Jordan takes it down by submission up next at 135 BR Katona takes on Garrett Armfield BR Katona

Returns to Canada we spoke about him last time out for his win against Cody Gibson which got him his second Ultimate Fighter trophy the only fighter to win two seasons he’s not a finisher by any means but Katona has proven he’s a guy who can take a hell of a beating and

Still find a way to get the win he’s getting what seems like a little bit of a layup to me even though the odds don’t agree with me Garrett Armfield is coming into his third UFC fight with an even one win one lost record in the Big Show

Armfield hasn’t been able to string more than a few wins together at a time last time out he got his first UFC win an absolute cracker of a right hand over toshiomi Kazama but I do think Katona represents a huge step up very early in his losses Armfield has been out

Wrestled by much lower level Grapplers than Brad Katona although armfield’s a solid Striker he’s got good accuracy and Power in his hands Katona has proven he can eat a punch and keep coming the oddsmakers are giving Armfield a lot of respects he’s only a slight Underdog but

I will take the favorite here Brad Tona I say he wins by decision opening up the main card my fight of the night Arnold Allen takes on morar IV this is definitely the hardcore Main Event if you don’t know yet here it goes arold Allen came into the UFC and went on a

Nine-fight undefeated run we were all just waiting for him to get a chance at the belt but he was met by Max Holloway he did go five rounds with the blessed one but he was soundly out struck in a decision MSA IV was in my very first

Unfamiliar video for his UFC debut and he has come so far since then a win here puts him in the discussion for the belt to say that this fight is high level is a hell of an understatement both of these guys are still in their 20s and

They have only one loss between them out of 18 fights in the UFC it is an incredible Styles Clash too evloev coming from a Russian wrestling background and Arnold Allen being more of a kickboxer but they’re not Specialists either they’re both extremely well-rounded guys and they’ve both shown the ability to adapt their

Game plan during a fight which is one of the most important things about having fight IQ for me it’s not just about putting your game plan on someone it’s about being to change that game plan if it’s not working this is such a great fight at such a great time for both of

These guys I do truly think one of them will be Champion one day and it’s actually so close that I don’t even want to make a pick to be honest IV has never lost and as much as I think he is a machine going five rounds with Max

Holloway and showing the heart and grit that Arnold did I think he’s only going to come back stronger from that sort of thing and if he can keep it on the feet early and avoid the takeown I think he can put IV in the kind of deep water on

The feet that he has not had to deal with in his career so so far it’s on a knife edge for me but I am going to take Arnold Allen as the dog by decision next up at middleweight Chris Curtis takes on Mark Andre bario bit of gatekeeper versus gatekeeper violence here Chris

Curtis of course 40 fights deep into his career is as veteran as veterans get but he’s not been able to hit the top 10 in the UFC bario is on a bit of an upswing with a two-fight winning streak but he also hasn’t been able to break through

Bario’s kind of gotten to the point now where if he hasn’t been able to bully through to a knockout and his opponent stands up against his pressure he usually kind of Fades quickly and loses is a decision Curtis is technically sound on the feet he’s a solid boxer

He’s not fast but he carries power but most importantly he’s durable and he’s hard to knock out and for a guy like bario I do think that spells bad news I think Chris Curtis is durable and powerful enough to cause problems I will take him by decision and now let’s get

To the fun stuff Mike mot is taking on Neil Magny and I think it’s possible Mike mot is the next big Canadian star mot is taking on his toughest fight so far in the extremely experienced Neil Magny but the hype train he is riding is coming in hot is running off of Canadian

Badass and maple syrup I really do think he’s got the potential to be the new face of Canadian MMA a spot that’s been dead in the water since George St Pierre first walked away from the sport a decade ago Rory Mack was supposed to be the heir to that throne but it just

Didn’t work out that way and the seat has been left open now M mot sits undefeated in the UFC after three fights and he is creating a real connection with these Canadian fans I mean last time out in Canada he got so much love that fans collapsed a railing reaching

Out for high fives crowd support and hype is one thing tangible success is something else does mot have what it takes to ride the wave all the way or is there a Neil magn shaped wall about to stop him in his tracks mot’s career so far actually has a few parallels to GSP

From an early age his martial arts training was at a karate school down the road in Hamilton Ontario and like St Pierre mot knew that the key to becoming a great MMA fighter was filling the gaps in your ability and becoming well-rounded after going five and one on

The regional circuit mainly using his kickboxing Mike took a three-year Hiatus from his MMA career focus on fleshing out his grappling he took grappling matches super fights and earned his black belt suddenly the karate car from Canada had a slick submission game and take down Arsenal reminds me a bit of

How a certain Canadian icon worked hard to become one of the best MMA wrestlers in the game with no grappling background alock took this learning a step further he became a striking coach at Team Alpha Male he started experiencing UFC level fight camps and fight week duties on a

Regular basis working with the likes of URI Faber and Cody garbrandt since returning to his MMA career career mot has won a UFC contract gone 5 and 0 with five finishes four of which were submissions technically he has not yet given us a reason to doubt his abilities

He’s looked amazing but these fights have not been against the cream of the crop in the UFC just yet he can’t choose his opponents of course but I do think Neil Magny represents a huge step up in competition and a perfect test for if Mike can put a number next to his name

And start making some big moves in the division he’s on one of the hottest runs in the sport and his last showing at UFC 289 the Vancouver crowd were in love with him rings of oay Olay rang around in the arena when he stepped in with that beautiful right hook and dropped

Adam Fugate and followed up with a nasty choke to get the tap the crowd exploded in a way that you do not often hear outside of the main event that finish made it 5 and0 for Canadians on that card and mot screamed into the microphone this show is for us this was Canadian

Anime WR baby this man has almost all he needs to earn the spot as the new standard Bearer for Canadian MMA but he’s missing one thing a resume until now mot hasn’t been drawn against a 170 Pounder with any standing at a high level and now just over 10 years since

GSP walked away from his welterweight Reign lot is stepping into the Scotia Bank Arena to take on Neil Magny who has more experience than everyone of meat UFC opponents combined and has been in the rankings for what feels like forever the Canadian needed a sinkle swim fight against a highlevel gatekeeper and this

Is the one Neil is as tough a challenge as mot’s ever had but he has not given me a reason to without him yet I’m taking Mike mot by submission next up guys it is a title fight but it’s a weird one raal Pennington versus Myro Bueno Silva I mean it’s definitely a

Fight no disrespect to these ladies but it doesn’t really get the juices flowing and Bueno Silva knows that she’s mentioned it in the Press leading up we are entering the post Amanda Nunes era and it looks like it’s going to be a bit hard Rocky Pennington is as tough as

Nails she’s a veteran and she has some really good talent in the wrestling game but Buena Silva is a problem she’s big she’s powerful at this weight class her pressure is enormous she’s going to have Rocky on the back foot from the first second and though she isn’t the most

Technical cage cutter she’s still a lot to deal with she throws for The Knockout all the time and if she can get it to the mat where she wants it her submissions are deadly too Rocky’s on a good run the longest streak of her career but to me she hasn’t shown much

Evolution and with Pennington’s last loss coming at the hands of Holly Holm who Myra bua Silva just finished inside two rounds MMA math is on her side as well so I’m going to take Myra bua Silva I’ll say she gets it done by submission and becomes the new Bantam way champion

And your main event of the evening for gold at 185 Sean Strickland defends against dricus dupy it’s the weirdest title fight in a long time this neither of these men fight like they have a plan or any kind of Rhythm Johan Strickland weaponized his awkwardness in beating

Arisna and dupi continues leaning on his massive power and strength advantages I do think dup’s technique is a little bit underrated he’s got some pretty clever looks on the feet and on the ground a Strickland decision here would not surprise me dupi gases out so fast and

Sha just has the ability to walk around jabbing you for 25 minutes but I do think dupi could come out and give Strickland flashbacks that Alex P fight if you pressure Strickland you will beat him and if dupi comes out of the blocks like he usually does raring to go and he

Finds a big Punch or a big takedown at early doors I can actually see him running through sha on this one it’s a bit of a coin flip for me but I am going to put my faith in the big man from South Africa I say drias dupi comes out

With a knockout win becomes the new middleweight champion of the world but what do you guys think it is kind of a weird card but there are some bangers on that undercard I hope you liked our little Spiel on Mike mot keep an eye on him big shout out to all our YouTube

Members our Channel Champions we really appreciate your support if you’d like to show some support to the channel help us keep making these videos please click the join button below the video and check out the options there do leave a comment or hit me up at maxor Randall on Twitter and enjoy the Fights