After a last-minute, heart-breaking loss to Neil Magny earlier this year, then a stint on the sidelines due to injury, Mike Malott returned to action at UFC Edmonton, paired up with Trevin Giles in welterweight action.
Giles was in need of a win of his own as “The Problem” had been finished twice in a row. First submitted by Gabriel Bonfim last year, most recently stopped in February by Carlos Prates.
The fight got off to a cautious start as both men seemed aware of a what single misstep would spell. Both men twitched out their lead hands. Malott spammed the rear body kick early and often. Feinting and faking. Mike also paired it with a punch. Giles patiently waited firing and educated jab in opportune places. Midway thru the round and Mallot was streaming blood down his nose from the strikes. Giles circled on the outside and absorbed some thudding leg kicks. In the last seconds of the round, Mallot upped the offense but whiffed on nearly every attack. Giles craftily moved out of range, evading strikes and elected not to answer back as time expired.
To open the second round Giles began to scooch forward pawing out the jab. Mallot flurried and tagged Giles with a punch, but he shook it off. Mike continued to attempt to come forward but couldn’t seem to land much flush but his kicks. Giles continued to sting Mike when he elected to throw the jab. With nearly two minutes left in the round, Giles stopped a halfhearted takedown. Mike tapped the outside of Trevin’s leg repeatedly and continued to push the pace of the action. Giles stayed extremely measured, never throwing more than two strikes at a time. Mike advanced still, spinning, throwing all sorts of kicks from different angles and finding Trevin’s chin with a jumping switch kick to the pop of the hometown crowd, at the close of the round.
The final round began with Giles just poking that jab out there. He did seem to have a little more urgency in his movements. Malott looked to keep his opponent defensively sound with the rear body kick and touched the chin of his opponent, again with a teep. Malott partially landed a high kick as Giles stayed extremely cautious wading forward periodically. Midway thru the round, and Mallot landed a nice boxing combination upstairs. With thirty seconds left in the fight the two fighters crashed together in the center of the octagon. Both men still had measured approaches and looked for counters as the time expired to the boos and jeers of the crowd.
“I needed to get back on that winning tract.” Malott remarked in his post-fight interview, apologizing for not delivering a finish to the Canadian crowd. Mike expressed how important of a win this was for him and how he had to fight smart and do what was best for his career, which is get the victory. Especially against a fighter like Giles.
Official Result: Mike Malott def Trevin Giles by Unanimous Decision 30-27, 29-28, 29-28
