Athletes
Malcolm Wellmaker | Built From The Ground Up
How a Rising Bantamweight Star Turned a Distant Dream Into Life-Changing Reality
Earlier this year, bantamweight Malcolm Wellmaker was still splitting his time between the gym and long days on a construction site.
“Right before April, I was broke,” Wellmaker said. “I was working 10 hour shifts, driving myself to the gym at night; I was worn out. I was seven years into this grind, and it hadn’t paid off yet.”
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That changed when he made his UFC debut in Kansas City this past April, earning serious recognition after scoring a first-round knockout over fellow prospect Cameron Saaiman. Coming out of that matchup completely unscathed, Wellmaker returned to the Octagon in his native Georgia less than two months later to face Kris Moutinho in Atlanta. While it was hard to top his debut showing, Wellmaker did just that, delivering another clean, first-round KO that brought his hometown supporters to their feet.
Two fights, two knockouts, and two Performance of the Night bonuses turned what the 31-year-old once viewed as a dream into a reality.
“My life today is unrecognizable compared to that,” he said. “The financial stability, my schedule – I get to wake up at a comfortable time every day. It’s crazy, and it’s hard to even realize that this is what my life is now.”
Malcolm Wellmaker | A Life Changed Through MMA
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Malcolm Wellmaker | A Life Changed Through MMA
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The 31-year-old began his mixed martial arts journey in 2018, competing in 10 amateur bouts before turning pro. It took just six professional fights for the still-undefeated prospect to gain the attention of UFC brass and earn an opportunity to fight in front of them on Dana White’s Contender Series. His first-round finish that night earned him a contract and set the stage for the two emphatic victories that followed.
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“Getting in the UFC and having success was something I had visions of, but the way that it’s manifested itself was wilder than I ever thought it would be,” Wellmaker said. “I always knew I could knock people out. In my heart, I knew I could fight with the best in the world but to get on the biggest stage and to knock out guys with names and to be doing so in the first round virtually untouched is incredible, man. It’s a dream come true.”
A crucial part of Wellmaker’s continued success is the team that’s been with him from the very beginning. Despite the new attention and accolades, he’s never strayed from his roots.
“I still train at the gym I started at,” Wellmaker said. “ I got partners that have been training partners of mine from day one… I still got teammates that can give me a hard time. I got teammates that if they start on my back, I’m probably not getting them off. I got teammates that if we box, I’m on the backfoot. I got teammates that keep me humble… I got a team of guys around me that I respect so much that’s going to be honest with me and tell me things I don’t want to hear.”
While his rise happened quickly once he arrived in the UFC, the journey to get here was anything but easy. What began as an escape from bad habits quickly turned into a life-changing pursuit that reshaped every part of who he was.
Malcolm Wellmaker Earns First-Round KO In His Debut | UFC Kansas City
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Malcolm Wellmaker Earns First-Round KO In His Debut | UFC Kansas City
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“When I got into MMA, it demanded that I changed a lot about the way I was living my life,” Wellmaker said. “It changed a lot about the way I was spending my time, and it put a lot of space between my friends and family too. It was hard because everything that I had done up until that point was counterproductive to being a good fighter, to being a good athlete and to being a good role model in the position I am now.
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“It wasn’t even a month into training that I knew it was giving me something I never had. It was giving me this confidence, and I was learning that I could do things I never thought I could do. It was an outlet for me. It was therapy for me. It was access to another side of the world that I had never seen. Immediately, it was life changing for me and something I fell in love with, but I didn’t think I could make a living off it for a long time. Even when I was getting titles as an amateur it didn’t cross my mind. Even when I went pro, it was nice to get a little paycheck, make a couple thousand fighting on the weekend, but it still didn’t seem to me like I was going to be able to change my life.”
After two finishes in as many months, Wellmaker began receiving praise from Masvidal and other MMA veterans. That encouragement solidified his belief that he could make fighting his full-time career.
“When I fought for Jorge Masvidal on IKON FC, that was my first time meeting names like Pearl Gonzalez and obviously Jorge. These people who I knew of before getting to that level were seeing what I was doing and they was telling me, ‘You can do it. You’re going to be a star. Just keep going.’
WATCH: Wellmaker Earns First Round Knockout In Atlanta
“That was when it changed for me. At that point, I started saying that I could change my life with fighting.”
Once he made that commitment, he hasn’t looked back since. Wellmaker is now 10-0 with eight stoppage victories (six knockouts, two submissions) and six first-round finishes, all in under three years’ time.
Wellmaker returns for his third Octagon appearance at one of UFC’s biggest events of the year, VeChain UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs Makhachev on November 15. He was originally scheduled to face Cody Haddon, however, the Australian prospect had to withdraw from the bout during fight week. In steps UFC newcomer Ethyn Ewing, who will make his UFC debut against Wellmaker on just two days' notice.
Don't miss a moment of VeChain UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs Makhachev, live from Madison Square Garden Arena in New York, New York. Early prelims start at 6pm ET/3pm PT, followed by the prelims at 8pm ET/5pm PT and main card live on PPV at 10pm ET/7pm PT.
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