Mike Malott savored every second of his walk to the Octagon at UFC 273 earlier this month, strolling to the cage with a Canadian flag draped across his shoulders and Sum 41’s classic “Fat Lip” blaring through VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fl.
It was a moment a long time in the making for the 30-year-old welterweight — a self-described “kid from Waterdown, Ontario, Canada with a stubborn dream of fighting in (the UFC cage),” and was going to soak in every last second of that initial walk.
“The walk felt amazing,” Malott said, speaking with OSDB Sports a few days after collecting a first-round knockout win over Mickey Gall. “I pretty much used up the enter ‘Fat Lip’ by Sum 41 to get to the cage because I was like, ‘You guys are going to wait. I’m taking my sweet time because I’ve been waiting for this for almost 20 years.’
“I’m not running to the cage like, ‘Let’s get this over with’ — I wanted to take my time.”
Once he was inside the Octagon, however, the talented welterweight wasted little time mixing it up with Gall.
While there was a brief feeling out process as there is at the outset of most fights, the duo started slinging hands pretty quickly, neither fighter getting a clear advantage in the early exchanges.
Malott stung Gall with a right hand a minute in, but showed patience and smarts, staying tight with his striking rather than rushing in carelessly, putting himself at risk as he tried to force a finish. He caught him again with a right hand down the pipe a minute later, but once more, he stayed patient, looking to pick his shots.
Gall recovered well and started returning fire. Somewhere along the way, Malott got hit with a shot that cause his nose to begin to bleed, and Gall dragged him to the canvas, only to have the Canadian quickly scurry back to his feet as the blood continued to pour from his nose.
As Gall pressed forward, backing Malott towards the fence, he threw a right hand and stepped forward behind it, drawing return fire from the UFC newcomer. Malott slipped Gall’s offerings and landed with a right hand in tight, following it up with a left hand that found the chin and sent the 10-fight UFC veteran crashing to the canvas face-first.
“The fight couldn’t have gone any better,” said Malott, reflecting on his first-round victory, which pushed his overall record to 8-1-1 and extended his overall winning streak to four. “I thought it was a lot messier and sloppier when I was in the fight, which is a nice problem to have.
“Usually guys think, ‘That combo probably looked so slick; that probably looked so sharp,’ and then you look back and your chin is in the air and your hands are down. I was thinking it was a bit of a slugfest, and Joe Rogan was like, ‘Man, you were in a wild fight,’ and I was like, ‘Damn — was it just a brawl the whole time?’
“But I went back and watched it and it was definitely a dogfight — we hung out in the pocket and got after it right away — but I was happy with the fight.”
While his performance in the fight opened a lot of eyes and introduced the UFC rookie to a much wider audience, it’s the message he shared and the selfless gesture he made during his post-fight interview that turned his performance at UFC 273 into a much bigger, far more universally meaningful story.
What started as a plea for people to check out his Instagram page amidst a smattering of boos turned into genuine feel-good story, as Malott told everyone in attendance and those watching at home about the GoFundMe page built for Angie Rodriguez, the 15-year-old daughter of one his coaches, who has been diagnosed with Stage 3 lymphoma.
“Someone very close to me, his 15-year-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer, Stage 3 lymphoma,” Malott began. “If you can please make a donation. I’m gonna donate my show money from tonight — $10,000 — to this foundation, to help this beautiful family make it through this time, and kick cancer’s ass. $@&% Cancer!”
The initial boos turned into an ovation from the fans, some who quickly pooled together money to pass on to Malott as he made the walk backstage.
It was a thoughtful, caring gesture that he hoped would bring in some extra money for his friend and fellow coach Joey Rodriguez and his family as they embark on this difficult fight, but it quickly became so much more than Malott could have ever envisioned.
“Hadn’t really told anybody I was going to do it,” Malott said of his post-fight speech and in-cage donation announcement. “Part of me thought, ‘It would be cool to plug the GoFundMe, and maybe we’ll get a little bit from some fans, but I think if I lead by example and make a big donation, people will be more likely and willing to jump on board and feel like a part of the community by donating.’
“It’s gotten so much more attention than I thought,” he continued. “I really thought, ‘If I give 10 grand — my show money — then maybe if it really blows up we’ll another 10 grand from fans, and that will be $20,000 for Joey and his family,’ because they already had a good amount from UFC featherweight Josh Emmett, who started the GoFundMe.
“They had already gotten pretty close to their goal — I think their goal was $50,000 and they were pretty close — but you never know how much it’s going to be.”
Donations came pouring in, and as the story started making the rounds on social media and sites like Reddit, the amount of money raised continued to grow.
Influencer and developing boxer Jake Paul donated $10,000 through his Boxing Bullies foundation, and when Dana White was asked about Malott’s performance and generous donation at his media session following the event, the UFC President sang the newcomer’s praises and told him to hold onto his own money.
“He looked good; the kid looked good,” said White. “He’s fun; he’s fun to watch. “He can keep his 10 grand, and I’ll do his show and his win, and I’ll donate it to his coach.”
“Dana graciously said, ‘Keep your money; it’s your first fight, we’re gonna make a donation for you,’” said Malott. “I was totally prepared to make this donation, but they’re going to make that donation.
“I think the goal of best medicine, best doctors, and time off to spend with their daughter is on the table now; we’ve achieved that.”
Part of what inspired Malott to make the decision was having watched his sister battle Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare autoimmune disorder where a person’s own immune system attacks the nerves, causing muscle weakness and potentially paralysis, when she was younger.
Additionally, as a Canadian, the weight of a mountain of debt from critical medical treatment isn’t something he’s going to be faced with, and he was keen to do his part to try and ensure that the Rodriguez family wasn’t stuck dealing with it either.
“This is an added expense where you’re already going through this stress of your daughter being sick, and now you’ve got to stress about the finances?” said Malott, “So I thought, ‘Let’s get these guys as much as we can so that is not an issue.’
“It’s such a luxury that we have,” he said regarding the Canadian health care system. “I don’t want to get into some big political crusade about universal health care in the U.S. — that’s not the issue here. It’s that as if it’s not devastating enough to find out your 15-year-old daughter is sick, it’s also like, ‘Hey, this might also financially cripple you for the rest of your life in a way that you’ll never recover from.’ Was it not bad enough?
“So now they can focus on what is actually important, which is getting their daughter healthy and making sure Angie is gonnabe 100-percent in no time.”
If you would like to make a donation to the GoFundMe page for Angie Rodriguez, please click the link below:
