The last time (Proper) Mike Malott fought in Canada, he said he felt "spoiled." Now the Canadian welterweight says he doesn't want to fight anywhere else.
Malott is in luck, with UFC 297 slated for Toronto on Jan. 20, 2024, and the native of Burlington, Ont., set to face Neil (The Haitian Sensation) Magny (28-11-0). Malott is one of eight Canadians who will step into the octagon that night at Scotiabank Arena.
"I don't want to fight anywhere else now," said Malott (10-1-1) on Tuesday, at a media conference to promote the event. "The reception we got (in June at UFC 289), that energy was intoxicating and addicting. I've been craving that feeling again since fighting in Vancouver … so for me it's monumental."
UFC 297 will be headlined by two title fights: A middleweight bout between champion Sean Strickland (28-5-0) and Dricus Du Plessis (20-2-0), to go along with a women's bantamweight matchup between Raquel Pennington (15-8-0) and Marya Bueno Silva (10-2-1).
Malott and middleweight Marc-André (Power Bar) Barriault from Gatineau, Que., both reflected on Tuesday about their experience the last time they fought in their home country.
"Last time in Vancouver, we kind of got spoiled," said Malott.
The pay-per-view will be Canada’s 33rd UFC event, as the country ranks third all-time in hosting the promotion behind only Brazil and the U.S.. It will also be the seventh time UFC has made its way to Toronto with a championship fight, returning to the city after five years.
"The nice thing about this card with two championships ... (and) several contenders who've fought for belts ... we've got a bounty of future stars for Canada (to see)," said UFC senior vice-president of international and content David Shaw, at Tuesday's press conference. "Our commitment to Canada is for the future and bringing Canadian mixed martial arts to the forefront of the sport."
Featherweight Charles (Air) Jourdain from Beloeil, Que., and bantamweight Serhiy Sidey from Burlington, Ont., who also spoke Tuesday, will be fighting in front of a Canadian crowd for the first time in their UFC careers.
For Jourdain (15-6-1) — who's on a two-fight win streak — it’ll be his 13th contest with the UFC, as the veteran will take on Sean (The Sniper) Woodson (10-1-0).
Sidey (10-1-0) on the other hand will be making his UFC debut on Jan. 20. After earning his contract by winning Dana White's Contender Series, in September, he'll be facing off against Ramon (The Savage) Taveras (9-2-0) in a rematch of that bout from nearly two months ago.
Other Canadians set to fight on the night include bantamweight Brad Katona (13-2-0) from Winnipeg, strawweight Gillian Robertson (12-8-0) of Niagara Falls, Ont., flyweight Malcolm Gordon (14-7-0) from Calgary, and welterweight Yohan Lainesse (9-2-0) of Montreal.
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