Mike Malott focused on first UFC main event, disregards other callouts

Mike Malott gets to realize a dream on Canadian soil at UFC Fight Night 273, and won't allow himself to think of anything else beyond Saturday's event.

It will be the first headliner for Malott (13-2-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) under the UFC banner. Standing on the other side of the octagon will be former title challenger Gilbert Burns, who has been on a rough stretch as of late. Despite riding a four-fight skid, Malott is anticipating he will experience the best Burns (22-9 MMA, 15-9 UFC) to date.

"I'm expecting the best version of him that we've seen yet," Malott told MMA Junkie. "I wouldn't prepare for anything less. He's a high-level fighter, dangerous fighter. So, that was the focus throughout camp, is making sure I'm as prepared as possible, bringing in tough training partners to push me, and give me new looks, and get myself to a level, as well as I've been competing, is even a higher level."

After getting over the initial excitement of hearing the news about headlining a UFC event in Canada, Malott put his head down and went to work. He knew adjustments had to be made in preparation for a five-round fight, especially against an opponent as skilled and experienced as "Durinho."

While Malott has been training hard to ensure he's victorious at Saturday's card, which takes place at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg (Paramount+), a couple of his peers have mentioned his name as potential next opponents. Former interim champion Colby Covington said he was told he would be facing the winner between Malott and Burns, while Kevin Holland said he wants to run it back to get revenge for an October unanimous decision loss.

"I'm not expecting anything after this fight; I'm focused on Saturday night, right?" Malott said. "Nobody else's name is on my mind right now. I'm focused on Saturday, and again, this is my first main event. Why would I look past this? This is something I've been dreaming of since I was a kid. I'm so blessed to get to do this, and not only is it a main event, it's in Canada, I get to go into a five-round, main event fight flying my Canadian flag and hearing fans cheering, so I'm focused on what's in front of me."

It doesn't matter who has mentioned his name lately. Malott is only focused on one thing, and that's winning against Burns. He recognizes that Covington could be a possibility for a next opponent, but truthfully, anything beyond Saturday simply doesn't exist in his mind at the moment.

"That's potentially a very realistic fight," Malott said. "I would probably be ranked ahead of that guy after this fight, but there's still tons of name value, but it's not even on my mind. ... I don't pick my fights. It's not like I'm negotiating, picking a fight. I've been told, 'This is who you're fighting, and this is the date.' I've been saying, 'Yeah.' So, whoever the UFC after this fight tells me this is who's next and this is when it's gonna happen, OK, cool – but right now, just focused on Saturday."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Winnipeg: Mike Malott disregards callouts ahead of first headliner