Preview: UFC Fight Night 246 ‘Moreno vs. Albazi’

Welterweights

Mike Malott (10-2-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Trevin Giles (16-6, 7-6 UFC)

ODDS: Malott (-250), Giles (+205)

The UFC appears to be behind Malott as one of its potential Canadian stars, and “Proper” looks to bounce back from a disheartening loss here. Malott had a decade of experience prior to his UFC debut—albeit with a very inconsistent schedule—but was still a bit hard to parse as a fighter upon hitting the big time. Malott’s approach has typically been one of technique over tactics. He can feel a bit aimless at times, but he can land some brutally powerful strikes when given the right range or grab a sudden submission if an opponent goes for a takedown at the wrong time. After a few finishes, Malott was paired with Neil Magny as a litmus test in January, and for the most part, it was the best performance of his career, as he fought behind a round-winning style while also getting a lot of work done. However, in the last minute and change of the fight, Malott suddenly imploded, handing Magny the third-round stoppage in an extremely unlikely comeback. About 10 months later, Malott is back in action against Giles, who finds himself in a familiar role against a promotional favorite.

A late-notice UFC signee in 2017, Giles has done well to develop a lot of tools to go along with his considerable physical gifts. Initially more of a wrestler upon his debut, Giles is also a sharp boxer who has shown some flashes of power. However, Giles’ good work is often undone by his lack of defensive awareness, as he’s usually unable to properly gauge his range and finds himself getting hit—and often rocked and finished—when he least expects it, even when things are going well. The UFC has often matched Giles with potent welterweight finishers in the hopes of them finding success, and it has worked more often than not. This looks like another one of those cases. The pick is Malott via first-round submission.

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Moreno vs. Albazi
Blanchfield vs. Namajunas
Diniz vs. Lewis
Machado vs. Ribeiro
Barriault vs. Stoltzfus
Malott vs. Giles
The Prelims