Montreal — The hottest rivalry on the UFC 315 card on Saturday was essentially one-sided in the end, and Canadian welterweight Mike Malott never did let opponent Charles “Chuck Buffalo” Radtke get under his skin.
Radtke certainly did try, adopting Donald Trump’s “51st state” rhetoric ahead of his showdown with small town all-Canadian boy Malott. It got him literally nowhere other than knocked out. Twice, potentially, after being dropped in the second round then receiving some Masvidal-like “super necessary” follow-up blows.
Following the fight, Malott (12-2-1) told Cageside Press during his post-fight press conference appearance that while “some people maybe need that heated intensity to come out and feel like a cornered animal, and they need to do that to perform,” he was not among them.
“I don’t think that’s me. If it comes down to something like that, if something gets emotional, alright. But I felt just staying calculated and focused on the task at hand was the way to do it. And I felt pretty genuine all week.”
For Malott, being in control of his own emotions was key. “Everything could have gotten to me or to anyone. Anything can get to anybody, you can let stuff get to you,” he noted. “But I’m the one in control here. This guy’s not in control of my emotions, this guy’s not in control of what I’m going to think about or what I’m going to focus on.”
With so much to focus on in fighting, from representing Canada, to not letting fans down, to making money, and getting ranked, Malott was aware that none of it really effects what goes on inside the cage. “What effects what goes on in the octagon? That’s what you need to focus on, and that’s what I was focused on all week. And I thought I did a pretty good job of it.”
Malott actually felt at times that he was too calm, though it seems to have all worked out in the end. And as for those “super necessary” finishing blows, Malott did tell Daniel Cormier in his post-fight interview that they felt pretty good.
Malott tried to plead the fifth backstage. “I don’t think I said that, did I? Did I say that? Alright, maybe I said that,” he said with a laugh, after witnesses in the media came forward.
Needless to say, few in Canada will lose much sleep over Radtke taking some damage (it helps that he was awake and alert after), though Malott himself was gracious in victory and even asked the crowd in Montreal not to boo the American, wanting to focus on positivity. As for the final blows, the Waterdown, Ontario native pointed out that until the ref says stop, it’s his job to fight.
“Dude, it’s a fight in a cage, in the octagon. He’s awake. If I let off early and he stands up, we’re back at it. Sorry man. You’re in there to protect yourself and [referee] Marc Goddard was in there to protect yourself. I’m not going to be the third guy in there to protect you. You know what I man? No. It’s go time until, he said stop, and I stopped. That’s when I’m stopping.”
Watch the full UFC 315 post-fight press conference appearance by Mike Malott above.
