{"id":222137,"date":"2025-10-18T11:51:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/222137\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T11:51:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T11:51:09","slug":"from-nhl-to-ufc-brothers-jeff-and-mike-malott-fighting-along-parallel-paths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/222137\/","title":{"rendered":"From NHL to UFC, brothers Jeff and Mike Malott fighting along parallel paths"},"content":{"rendered":"

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. \u2013 When Mike Malott enters the octagon for his welterweight UFC fight against Kevin Holland on Saturday night, his biggest fan won\u2019t be there at Vancouver\u2019s Rogers Arena to cheer him on.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, wearing a bright red Team Canada hockey jersey, Jeff Malott went berserk in that same building as he watched his older brother take down Adam Fugitt with a second-round submission at UFC 289. This time, the younger Malott will be busy.<\/p>\n

As Mike\u2019s bout against Holland begins, Jeff figures to be back in the lineup for the Los Angeles Kings as they host the Carolina Hurricanes. It\u2019s a place he has been since opening night of the NHL season after parlaying a terrific training camp into a roster spot normally occupied by veteran Corey Perry, who is recovering from knee surgery. But the 29-year-old winger is already awaiting the chance to catch up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve recorded fights in the past, so just watch after the game,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see. We\u2019ll kind of play it by ear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite their separate sporting realms, the brothers feel they\u2019re on a shared ride. Now 33, Mike has found success in mixed martial arts, boasting a 12-2-1 record with four wins on five UFC cards, including two knockouts.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Jeff has also reached a professional peak. Through the Kings\u2019 first five games of 2025-26, he has averaged 7:12 of ice time on their fourth line, notched his first career NHL goal and endeared himself to fans and teammates alike by dropping the gloves in two fights.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe watched his game (Monday against the Minnesota Wild) and they do a close up on him on the bench,\u201d Mike Malott recently told Sportsnet.<\/a> \u201cAnd I\u2019m like, \u2018Dammit, man. Like, that\u2019s my brother. How cool is this? Like, my little brother\u2019s playing in the NHL right now for the L.A. Kings. This is so cool. How crazy of a moment is this?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure (he) has a bunch of goals as far as hockey is concerned. And I have a bunch of goals as far as the UFC is concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff\u2019s fate with the Kings could soon change once Perry, a former Hart Trophy winner and longtime NHL irritant, returns from injury. No matter what, though, Mike will be keeping close tabs and reveling in the road that his brother has forged.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe reflect on it all the time together,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cAnytime one of us has a big moment coming up, we\u2019re always each other\u2019s biggest fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jeff<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Jeff Malott has staked out a fourth-line role with the Kings to start the 2025-26 season. (Jeff Bottari \/ NHLI via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Murray Malott will be watching Mike\u2019s fight live in Vancouver, but he is hoping that the Rogers Arena lounge where he and wife, Anne, will be stationed on Saturday will be showing the Kings-Hurricanes game on television too. The Malott parents beam whenever they watch their sons fulfill their dreams, the product of a household where sports were highly valued yet a balance was maintained.<\/p>\n

Their daughters, Lauren and Kathryn, were competitive figure skaters; the former now teaches power skating, while the latter switched to rugby and crew in college. \u201cWe always joke about it: The girls are the ones that you got to watch out for in our family,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cThey\u2019re true competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n

The kids weren\u2019t locked into their favorite sports, either. Lauren ran cross country. Mike and Jeff competed in track and field. Now the brothers are thriving in the octagon and on the ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the time Mike was 15 years old, he said, \u2018One day, I\u2019m going to be in the UFC,\u2019\u201d Murray said. \u201cJeff never talked about ever being in the NHL. He just quietly went along and kept plugging along. That\u2019s one thing different about them but the thing that is really similar about them is they really, really were dedicated and worked their butts off. They just never stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were never the best, I don\u2019t think, but they were probably the hardest workers. And I think that really was one of the things that got them to where they are today. They still do. They still work really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

As his profile in the UFC world expands, Mike Malott doesn\u2019t overlook his origins in mixed martial arts, having picked up the sport as a massive fan. He called that win over Fugitt \u201can unreal night,\u201d when an arena full of Canadian compatriots erupted in cheers, and wants a repeat of that Saturday when he takes on the taller, longer Holland.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s just going out there and executing my technique,\u201d Mike told UFC.com<\/a>. \u201cI know I\u2019m one of the most dangerous guys in the UFC and in the division. I\u2019ve got pretty much 50-50 knockouts and submissions against. All my submissions in the UFC are against guys that have never been submitted. Some of the guys I have been knocking out are pretty dangerous strikers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just really confident going into this fight and I just want to go in there and just have another solid performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Jeff won\u2019t be present in Vancouver, he is firmly in Mike\u2019s corner. Every fight. Every day and night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty wicked for him to be able to represent Canadian MMA like that on a stage like that,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cHe\u2019s pumped and we\u2019re all pumped for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s only getting better. MMA is a crazy game where every fight gets harder and harder. He\u2019s done such a great job handling that. And we\u2019re all so proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Mike Malott boasts a 12-2-1 record as a professional mixed martial artist heading into Saturday night\u2019s UFC fight. (Jeff Bottari \/ Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Undrafted out of Cornell University, Jeff logged four games with the ECHL\u2019s Florida Everblades in his first pro season. He went on to spend four years with the AHL\u2019s Manitoba Moose before making his NHL debut with the Winnipeg Jets in March 2022. It lasted eight shifts, totaling a hair over four minutes of ice time.<\/p>\n

He continued to produce after moving to the Kings\u2019 AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, notching his fourth 20-goal season in 2024-25. The persistence paid off when injuries to forwards Tanner Jeannot and Alex Turcotte last spring led the organization to recall Jeff for his Los Angeles debut on March 27.<\/p>\n

What was originally imagined as a temporary stay has been willed into a bit of permanence by his performance. With Jeannot effectively lost for the remainder for the regular season, the Burlington, Ont., native stayed with the Kings and dressed on the fourth line for all six of their first-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a lot of years in the minors,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cA lot of time spent trying to make that jump and working on things that would help that transition. Learning to play the right way. Learning to play the pro game. Learning how to have an impact anywhere in the lineup. And just really a lot of time practicing being reliable and being trusted out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust (to) come up last year and try and earn every day and have that translate into some playoff hockey experience was absolutely incredible. That\u2019s what everybody\u2019s working for. That\u2019s some pretty valuable experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Kings\u2019 second game this season, against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 8, a shot from linemate Joel Armia struck Jeff on the backside and skipped past goalie Adin Hill for his first NHL goal. Jeff would rather the milestone have come last April, when he coincidentally made a move around the sliding Perry, then with the Oilers, and beat goalie Calvin Pickard with a diving shot. His Kings teammates quickly mobbed him in celebration, but the goal was called back on a successful offside challenge.<\/p>\n

If kids are in his future, Jeff said, \u201cI\u2019m probably pulling up YouTube and showing them a goal against Edmonton and cutting it 10 seconds short. That\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ll do.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey won\u2019t see the goal in Vegas,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut we joke at a lot of the goals I\u2019ve had. I got a lot of text from a lot of guys that have played with me in the American League and know that I\u2019ve had a lot more goals look like the one in Vegas than the one against Edmonton. I don\u2019t really care how it goes in. And I think everybody would have the same answer. It\u2019s nice to just have one count.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Mike in his Sportsnet interview, \u201cAnd it was one of the coolest goals you\u2019ll ever see in hockey. That one stung for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mostly skating on their fourth line with Turcotte and either Joel Armia or Alex Laferriere, Jeff has established a presence and shown adaptability for the Kings, embracing an energy-and-protector role in contrast to his more offensive-minded AHL presence. When teammates Warren Foegele and Brandt Clarke were on the receiving end of big hits in separate games, Jeff didn\u2019t hesitate to get into fights as a responsive measure.<\/p>\n

Growing up, Jeff was smart enough to not prod his brother into scraps. Any of them that occurred, he said, usually happened on Mike\u2019s terms. But he laughs about those today. And Mike noted that Jeff has registered more fights than goals in this young NHL season, adding that \u201che\u2019s not wasting any time making his presence known. \u2026 He\u2019s a killer, a workhorse and super inspirational getting to watch him do his thing. And we just chat about this journey together a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two brothers, two sports, two fantasies turned reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to be able to lean on each other to when times get stressful or things pick up,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cFor us, it\u2019s cool to be able to relate to somebody as close as your brother like that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL SEGUNDO, Calif. \u2013 When Mike Malott enters the octagon for his welterweight UFC fight against Kevin Holland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,763,1296,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-222137","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-los-angeles-kings","11":"tag-mixed-martial-arts","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}