MONTREAL – Out with the ice, in with the Octagon.
Get your tickets for UFC 315 🎟️
UFC 315 is taking center stage at the Bell Centre on Saturday, headlined by title bouts between defending welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and fifth-ranked UFC fighter Jack Della Maddalena, and current two-time champion Valentina Shevchenko and Manon Fiorot.
While all eyes will be on the co-main events, Jake Evans will be paying attention to another fight a little further down the card, between Mike Malott and Charles Radtke.
We spoke to the Habs forward about his relationship to UFC and the Malott family, and his plans for the summer.
Please note questions and answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.
What’s your link to UFC?
I’ve always enjoyed the sport, and I think I got more into it when my good friend Jeff [Malott, who’s in the Los Angeles Kings’ organization] told me his brother [Mike] is in the UFC and fighting in it, and then we just started paying more attention to it. We got to train with him for a couple of summers in a row and do some boxing classes. So, I wouldn’t say I’m following it along very much, but I’m always following him, Michael, around, making sure he’s doing well. [...] I like the sport in general. I think they’re crazy athletes obviously and you have to get into such a crazy mental state to get into the Octagon and fight it out.
Would you say that there are some similarities between hockey and fighting?
I think mental toughness, like performing under pressure. For most of those guys, it’s three rounds so it’s kind of like, if you have one bad round or, for us, one bad period, you can mentally reset at intermission. And then I think putting your body on the line too is another connection.
Who’s your favorite fighter?
It would be Mike. I like Khabib [Nurmagomedov] too, just because of how dominant he was. I feel like everyone has their own kind of fighting style.
How often do you watch UFC?
I watch as much as I can, but usually it’s on a Saturday night so it’s tough to watch during the season. I mean, I’ll watch every single one of Mike’s fights. I remember we watched one on the flight right before we were taking off. I think Kovy [Johnathan Kovacevic] had a stream going on to watch it. Mike lost, which was sad. It was tough to watch.
Have you been to a live UFC event before?
No, never. I’m excited! I don’t know what to expect.
Montreal is a great event city, especially in the summer. What else have you got coming up?
Well, F1 weekend will be awesome. We’re still trying to plan out what we’ll be here for, but I think LASSO. We’re going to be here for most of the summer, so as long as we’re in town, we’ll definitely pop into these [events].
Who on the team would make a good UFC fighter? Who’s better off sticking with hockey?
I’m going to go with a wild card answer: I think Jayden Struble would be a good UFC fighter. I’m not going to pick Arber [Xhekaj] or Pezz [Michael Pezzetta]. Arber’s punching would be good, but l think Struble could take a guy down. And then the worst fighter would be... I’d go with Monty. He’s too nice. He’s way too nice of a person.
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