Mike Malott gets the main event slot in his own country this weekend, and he sounds like a man who thinks he earned it. The Canadian welterweight headlines UFC Fight Night 291 on Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, facing Joaquin Buckley over five rounds. The card lands on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and streams live on Paramount+ at 8 p.m. ET on Oct. 17.
Malott (14-2-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) told MMA Junkie on Monday that the booking confirms his camp is on the right track. “It just further cements everything that we’re doing right,” he said, adding that his team has kept making adjustments since his last outing.
He was even more direct about the matchup itself. “I love the matchup,” Malott said. “It’s a top-10 opponent. It’s what we need. It’s clearly the next step. I’ve beaten two top-15 guys, two ranked guys in my last two fights. I think that’s a very logical next step.”
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Buckley’s Spot
Buckley (21-8 MMA, 11-6 UFC) has headlined plenty of UFC cards, but he shows up in Edmonton on a two-fight skid after losses to Kamaru Usman and Sean Brady. The UFC is leaning hard on his highlight reel to sell the return. The promotion’s account posted one of his knockouts on X with the caption “Is this one of the best knockouts ever?” and also dropped his full fight with Impa Kasanganay on YouTube as part of the fight-week push.
Malott, 34, didn’t treat the losing streak as a sign of decline. He pointed to Buckley’s appearance at UFC BJJ, where Buckley dominated a world jiu-jitsu black belt, as proof the American still has plenty left. “It goes to show he’s not over the hill,” Malott said. “He’s not run down. He’s still a super dangerous guy. I think it just proves the level I’m at.”
As for the trash talk Buckley is known for, Malott shrugged it off. He said he expected more of it from Kevin Holland, who stayed mostly quiet, and described his promotional back-and-forth with Charles Radtke as about as close to pro wrestling as the sport gets. “If Buckley is silent, that’s fine,” Malott said. “If Buckley is loud and obnoxious or talking trash, that’s fine, too. It doesn’t change who I am. It doesn’t change how I prepare. It doesn’t change my skill set.”
He also wouldn’t guess how close a win puts him to a title shot. He said the plan is to figure out what comes after Saturday once Saturday is over, and that he feels he’s climbing the rankings the right way.
Quick Take
The records tell you why the UFC made this fight. Malott has lost once in eight trips to the Octagon. Buckley has dropped six of 17, including his last two against Usman and Brady, who are both elite wrestlers. That’s the part I’d circle. Buckley’s losses came against guys who could hold him down, and Malott himself is crediting Buckley’s grappling, so the home fighter isn’t walking in expecting an easy night on the mat. For a 34-year-old with seven UFC wins, a five-round decision or stoppage over a top-10 name in front of an Edmonton crowd is the cleanest résumé line he can get. For Buckley, a third straight loss pushes him out of headliner territory in a hurry. The cage door shuts Oct. 17 at Rogers Place.
