MALOTT'S KNEE ENDS BUCKLEY — FIVE STRAIGHT IN CANADA
“This is the biggest fight of my life, the biggest moment of my life, and I performed when it mattered the most.”
A second-round knee gave Edmonton its finish, Buckley his third straight loss, and Canada's quietest contender a loud claim on the Top 10.
Mike Malott gave Edmonton the finish it came for. Two and a half minutes into the second round, a knee dropped Joaquin Buckley, one follow-up right hand closed the show, and Rogers Place finally got to roar for one of its own in a main event.
It was not a brawl. The first round was measured — Malott patient, Buckley hunting the one big shot that never came. When the opening appeared in the second, Malott needed exactly one strike to change the fight and one more to end it. Official time: 2:32 of round two.
The numbers behind the noise: 15-2-1 overall, 8-1 in the UFC, five consecutive wins — and every one of those five came on Canadian soil. This was his second straight headliner — and his second straight main-event finish. It never looked too big for him. "I'm on top of the world right now," Malott said afterward. "This is incredible."
Buckley's side of the ledger is darker. That is three straight losses now — Kamaru Usman, Sean Brady, and now Malott. A year ago he was the division's loudest climber. On Saturday night he was the name a contender used to announce himself.
The UFC paid Malott like a headliner, too: a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus, on a card where twelve of thirteen fights ended inside the distance, tying a UFC record. When the rankings update this week, expect a number inside the Top 10 beside his name.
The promotion heads to Toronto in January for UFC 336. Try leaving Mike Malott off that card now.
