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Malcolm Wellmaker | The Genuine Article
Talented Bantamweight Rookie Making An Impact At Home And Inside The Octagon
Malcolm Wellmaker has been one of the breakout stars of 2025, arriving in the Octagon from Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series to deliver a pair of punishing first-round knockouts that quite literally changed his life.
The first came in April against Cameron Saaiman and allowed him to quit his job as a union pipefitter. The second came less than two months later in Atlanta, Georgia, two hours and change down I-20W from his hometown of Augusta, against durable veteran Kris Moutinho. Those two wins pushed his record to 10-0, earned him accolades and praise, both within the MMA community and, more importantly, in his own community as well.
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“There’s these two sides of the world I’m involved in now,” began Wellmaker, who makes his third appearance of the year this weekend at VeChain UFC 322 in New York City, where he takes on fellow DWCS grad Cody Haddon. “One is the world stage where it’s the UFC and my name gets tossed around by the critics asking where I fall in the rankings, what my real potential is and how much of an impact can I make on the division.
“And then my real life, my everyday life, where I go to my mom’s house every weekend to hang out with my nephews, every picture they’re in, they do because they wanna be like me,” he added, striking the customary closed fist pose everyone makes when taking pictures with fighters. “They tell all their friends in school how I’m this famous fighter and I knock people out, and because of that, my life, (everyone around me’s) lives are forever changed, and it’s not because of what I will accomplish in my career, it’s because of what I’ve already done.”
Malcolm Wellmaker Fight Week Interview | Vechain UFC 322
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Malcolm Wellmaker Fight Week Interview | Vechain UFC 322
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The final piece of that statement is a call-back to something Wellmaker posted on Instagram at the end of September: a series of pictures chronicling his journey from being a 16-year-old poised to head in the wrong direction in life to winning his UFC debut at age 30 and earning the bonus that allowed him to walk away from his construction job.
In the accompanying caption, the ascending talent said the following:
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It might sound crazy, but if I never did anything else in my career and ended up back in construction, I’d still be grateful to God for the success I was given.
I brought light to my city and inspired the next generation, I put my day one team’s name on the big screen, and I know for sure I’ve used the position I’m in to change some lives for the better.
And that’s more than I ever thought I would do…
Asked where the 16-year-old kid in the first picture was headed, Wellmaker explained that like so many others, he and his close friends idolized their peers who were spending more time in the streets, “living the harder life” as he put it.
“When I took to MMA, my other group of friends that I grew up with, admiring the gang bangers and drug dealers, they started leaning heavier into that lifestyle when I started leaning heavier into MMA,” continued Wellmaker, who had a friend from home that is now confined to a wheelchair after being shot in the back in attendance at his fight in Atlanta earlier this year. “We had a lot of friends we looked up to and admired for living a more dangerous and crazier lifestyle, and MMA was the thing I chose rather than choosing that other route like my other close friends.”
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As much as his picking the better path makes for a great story, what truly stands out about Wellmaker is that when he says he would be happy with the success he’s had already and gladly go back to his construction job, you can feel that he means it.
The fact that he’s already making a positive impact in his community — not to mention building a better future for his son (a.k.a. Baby Walla) — means more to him than anything he’s accomplished to date in his fighting career.
Bantamweight Malcolm Wellmaker KOs Kris Moutinho In Round 1 at UFC Atlanta on June 14, 2025.
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Bantamweight Malcolm Wellmaker KOs Kris Moutinho In Round 1 at UFC Atlanta on June 14, 2025.
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“Even with just the small amount of success I’ve had, people see the integrity I carry with me, and it pushes them to want to be that kind of person that is gonna be respectful, gonna be honest, humble, no matter what type of attention or success they find, and that’s where the real value is,” he said. “I do hope to also impress the UFC and the MMA community and Dana White, too, but the mayor of the city is calling me to city council meetings to recognize me, and all these schools and kids are recognizing me, listening to me talk, wanting pictures.
“So much has already been done that I never thought I was gonna do in the first place, so like I said, I’m happy with what I’ve done already.”
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There is a genuineness to Wellmaker that resonates with you when you speak with him, the same way you could feel his unbridled joy as he bounced to the Octagon in his home state earlier this summer.
“I know a lot of people saw Conor (McGregor) get big with the trash talk and stuff like that, and it’s almost like what trash talk was to Conor, it’s what being genuine is to me,” he said with a broad smile. “It’s what makes people like me, and fortunately, it’s just who I am; I don’t have to put on a front or fake it.”
While the genuineness is definitely why some people like him, the fact that he’s detonated a right hand on the jaw of a pair of established opponents to kick off his UFC tenure has brought some people to Team Wellmaker as well.
It’s rare that a first-year fighter is added to a card of this magnitude and the MMA community reacts with mass excitement, but such was the case when Wellmaker was first announced to be facing Canadian Serhiy Sidey this weekend in New York City. Similarly, it’s why there was an audible, collective sigh of disappointment less than 48 hours later when Sidey announced he’d suffered an injury and would no longer be able to share the Octagon with the rookie standout.
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Thankfully, fellow Season 8 graduate Cody Haddon was quick to raise his hand to replace Sidey, keeping Wellmaker on this weekend’s historic fight card, and giving the ascending bantamweight what he believes is an even greater test on Saturday evening.
“I like the Cody Haddon fight more, to be honest with you,” said Wellmaker. “I think he’s more exciting, I think he’s more of a dog, I think he’s more violent, his instincts are when he gets tired, he walks forward and throws volume, and everybody knows that’s what I want anyway!
“It’s a very exciting fight, and I respect him too. I looked at him as a fellow prospect in the division, so I’m excited for the challenge and excited for what he’s gonna bring. He’s a very talented guy, so it’s gonna be a fun fight.”
The 27-year-old from Perth was actually the first member of last year’s outstanding collection of additions to the UFC roster to debut inside the Octagon, earning a unanimous decision win over Dan Argueta just five weeks after earning his contract, before the season had even run its course.
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Since then, Haddon has been stuck on the sidelines, working his way back from multiple injuries, but his overall success and the expansiveness of his toolkit make him a sound challenge for Wellmaker, and perhaps the first person in the UFC to push “Walla” beyond the opening round.
And as much as he enjoys knocking people out, there is a part of the electric finisher that would welcome that opportunity.
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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“At my core, I really believe I’m a fighter,” stated Wellmaker. “I love getting knockouts, I love winning, but when you see me in my training camps, when you see me doing my conditioning practices, I’m digging super-deep, I’m yelling crazy s***; I’m that psycho and I go into fights with this mentality of do or die, burn the boats, and when it gets ugly, I’m gonna keep fighting.
“I look forward to when the day comes that a guy eats my best shot and I know ‘We’re in for a long night, and this guy in front of me thinks it’s his fight, but it’s still my fight.’
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“I wanna show the world that and I wanna show myself that. I am looking forward to that day, and any one of these days could be that day. Cody Haddon could be that guy. Kris Moutinho could have been that guy, and I was ready to go there, so if it goes there, I look forward to showing everybody that I’m more than a one-punch knockout artist.”
But just maybe not this weekend.
“Let’s top off this rookie year with something magnificent and do that test later!” he added with a cackle. “That would be my ideal story. I want another first-round knockout, and if I do it with the right hook, it just adds to the lore of my knockout power.”
Saturday night, a kid from Augusta that had never previously been to New York City is set to take part in one of the biggest UFC events of the year, and while he’s not the main attraction, his presence on the card and the fact that he and Haddon are positioned as the first fight of the televised prelims do not go unnoticed.
Malcolm Wellmaker | A Life Changed Through MMA
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Malcolm Wellmaker | A Life Changed Through MMA
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In two fights, Wellmaker has made an impact — in his community and inside the cage — and while admitting that he was sure to be star-struck when surrounded by the legendary champions he’ll be rubbing shoulders with all week, what really leaves him speechless is how quickly his life has changed.
“It’s really mind-blowing still because just in April I was still working my regular f***ing job!” he said, chasing his words with a deep laugh. “That was April, bro! Seven months ago! It makes no f***ing sense, man.”
Listen to him speak, watch him compete, and you’ll see why it makes perfect sense.
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