What a small world we live in. Saturday night at UFC Fight Night Kansas City, two familiar names to longtime fight fans, Da’mon Blackshear and Malcolm Wellmaker, stepped into the octagon back-to-back on the prelims, and both delivered in a big way. Blackshear picked up a well-earned unanimous decision, while Wellmaker turned heads with a thunderous first-round knockout. For those who have followed their journeys, it felt less like coincidence and more like destiny.
Long before their UFC breakthroughs, Blackshear and Wellmaker sharpened their skills under the bright lights of Conflict MMA, a top South Carolina-based promotion. It was there that both men captured their first professional titles — milestones that hinted at bigger futures. Blackshear submitted Aalon Cruz in the fourth round to claim the featherweight championship back in 2017. Years later, Wellmaker followed by grinding out a majority decision against Taylor Moore to earn the bantamweight crown in 2023. Their roots run deep, and Conflict MMA was a proving ground that helped mold two future UFC talents.
When you look closely at their resumes, it’s easy to see why both fighters are considered promising prospects. From their amateur beginnings to their pro careers, Blackshear and Wellmaker have consistently stepped up against high-level opposition — often facing fighters who would go on to appear in the UFC or Dana White’s Contender Series. For fans familiar with both athletes, it feels like a small world, but for Blackshear and Wellmaker, its just the start of something much bigger.