Las Vegas — “Rat Garbage” is now a UFC fighter. Well, Mandel Nallo is anyway.
Canada’s Nallo, who may have dropped his old nickname (more on that later), has long been on the short list of many hardcore MMA fans and prospect watchers, but at 36, there was a question as to whether the Bellator MMA alum would ever make it to the UFC. That question was answered on Tuesday, when Dana White signed Nallo (14-3, 1NC) off a first-round finish of Samuel Silva, his fifth straight victory overall.
It’s back to the big leagues for Nallo, who noted that the regional circuit was not an easy place to be the past few years.
“When you’re not in a major, the world is rough. Especially right now, the MMA game is tough out there,” the lightweight told media outlets including Cageside Press backstage at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “And for a guy who’s skilled, nobody wants to fight you, the money’s rough. So it’s a testament to my coaches my team and my family for sticking with me through that. Because I’m going to do the work.”
The support Nallo has received over the years, he added, “has been something that you could never even come close to paying back.”
Nallo is known for exciting finishes, and rising to the occasion, having won regional titles both as an amateur and professional. The Contender Series was another solid example, with a right hand dropping his opponent in explosive fashion.
“When it comes to stuff like this, I’m that guy. I will do something crazy,” Nallo stated. “And I’m not crazy in my life. I hang around, I train, I do nothing. But when I’m in the cage, it’s weird. Something mad happens.”
Now that he has his foot in the door, Mandel Nallo is ready to get to busy. “I told Dana, run me. I want to work,” he revealed, going as far to suggest a spot on the UFC Paris card this weekend. While that’s unlikely (though as recent history has shown, not impossible), there’s another date on the radar.
“October 18 in Vancouver, I was born there, I’ll fight there for sure. So that’s the plan, just to work as hard as I can and to get to where I want to be,” he stated.
As for his old “Rat Garbage” nickname, Nallo is leaving it in the past, kind of. “Maybe it’s like an alter ego or something. The website’s still up, people can still buy things on it, my merch. Maybe that’s my brand, and my nickname is something else. I don’t know, we’re still figuring it out. If you want to call me that still, it’s fine. I’m sure my parents are happy that I’m no longer ‘Rat garbage.'”
Watch the full DWCS 2025 Week 4 post-fight media appearance by Mandel Nallo above.
