Mike Malott will look to rebound from his first octagon loss.
Malott (10-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) takes on Gilbert Urbina (7-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) July 13 at a UFC Fight Night event, which doesn’t yet have a publicly known venue or location. Malott confirmed the news on Instagram after an initial report from Sportsnet.
Expectations were high for Canada’s Malott, who was fast tracked to a fight with ranked welterweight contender Neil Magny after just three UFC wins. He got off to a dominant start at UFC 297 in January, but things took a bad turn in the final frame when he was beaten down and finished in a third-round TKO loss.
Malott was met with heavy criticism after gassing out in his home country, but the 32-year-old rising prospect remained positive. Prior to getting stopped by Magny, Malott finished his first three UFC opponents, earning a Performance of the Night bonus in two of them.
Urbina, a Season 29 alum of “The Ultimate Fighter,” is 1-2 in the UFC. He was submitted by Bryan Battle in his debut but bounced back with a TKO of Orion Cosce last May. In his most recent appearance, he was knocked out by Charles Radtke in February.
With the addition, the July 13 lineup includes:
- Mariya Agapova vs. Luana Santos
- Viviane Araujo vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
- Gabriel Bonfim vs. Ange Loosa
- Mike Malott vs. Gilbert Urbina