UFC bantamweight Malcolm Wellmaker issued a statement following his second-round knockout loss to Otari Tanzilovi at UFC Vegas 122.
After starting off his UFC career 2-0 with three knockout wins, Wellmaker has now lost three straight fights, including a brutal head kick loss against Tanzilovi at UFC Vegas 122.
It’s been a shocking fall from grace for Wellmaker, who was the betting favorite in his last three fights, yet wound up losing them all, the last two via stoppage.
Malcolm Wellmaker Reacts to UFC Vegas 122 KO Loss
Taking to his social media following UFC Vegas 122, Wellmaker shared his reaction to the head kick KO loss against Tanzilovi.
“What’s going on, guys? I am back in Florida, and I wanted to make a quick video to give an update to all my family, friends, and supporters out there,” Wellmaker said in a video statement posted to his Instagram.
“First and foremost, I’m healthy. No major injuries. So that’s the biggest blessing so far.
“As far as fight night goes, I had a game plan, and I was working it, and I felt like it was working well. We wanted to focus on the body; we wanted to stay inside the kicking range, because obviously he’s a dangerous kicker, and really abuse the pace and volume.
“Yeah man, it was going good until it wasn’t and I got caught. Hats off to Otari because he’s a great striker and we all knew how dangerous he was.
“As far as like my camp and preparation, man, I gave everything I had to it. I moved my whole family to Florida to prepare for this one. I showed up to every training session I could and gave 110%. And I improved, and I feel like some of those improvements showed during the fight.
“Obviously, I still have a ton of room for improvement. I’ve only been at ATT for a few months. I didn’t even start fighting or training at all until the age of 23.”
Malcolm Wellmaker Comments on What’s Next
As for what’s next, Wellmaker said he plans on taking a bit of time off to rest up and recover and spend time with friends and family before heading back to ATT to continue training and wait for his manager to call him with his next MMA fight news.
“As far as what’s next for me, to be honest, I don’t know yet. But as long as the possibility of me providing for my family with fighting is there, I’m going to pursue it, and I feel like I’ve built a positive platform and had a positive impact, and I want to continue to use it as long as I can,” Wellmaker said.
“So I’m going to take the next two weeks to go back home to Augusta, Georgia, to hang out with all my family and friends that I’ve been missing while I’ve been down here in Florida, and then after those two weeks are up, I plan on coming back, getting right back in the gym, getting right back in training, making improvements, and waiting on a phone call from my manager to see what’s next.
“But as always, it is an absolute blessing to be in the position that I’m in, coming from where I came from, because I never saw this in the cards for me. So whether I’m winning or losing, knocking people out or getting knocked out, it doesn’t matter. I’m happy. I’m going to be OK, and I’ve got faith that God is the absolute best of planners.
“So until next time, thank y’all very much, and I love y’all.”
Malcolm Wellmaker Issues Statement After UFC Vegas 122 Loss