"It was tough, man. A lot of times it got dark" - Malcolm Wellmaker opens up on hitting rock bottom before UFC breakthrough

Malcolm Wellmaker recently discussed his financial struggles leading up to his UFC debut. He revealed that his F-250 truck was repossessed because he couldn't pay the bills.

Wellmaker recently secured a highlight-reel knockout win over Kris Moutinho at UFC Atlanta. While his current MMA success is impressive, he faced significant financial difficulties before breaking into the UFC.

During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Wellmaker shared his story, saying:

"Crazy story, but in April before my Contender Series fight, I had this F-250 I bought. It got repossessed cause I was going broke. I couldn't keep up with the bills I had. It was tough, man. A lot of times, it got dark. I didn't know if it would be worth it. I didn't know if I would ever make it to the UFC or even if I'd have success in the UFC."

Check out Malcolm Wellmaker's comments below (20:08):

Wellmaker has a perfect record of 10 wins and no losses in his professional MMA career, including 2 wins in the UFC.

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Malcolm Wellmaker details story of getting introduced to MMA

Malcolm Wellmaker worked as a pipe fitter and welder in his hometown before embarking on his MMA fighting career. During that time, he met two individuals who encouraged him to try his hand at MMA.

In the aforementioned interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Wellmaker shared the story of how he was introduced to the sport, saying:

"I never had a boxing lesson, jiu-jitsu, wrestling class, not a single anything before the age of 22... I had a guy, in particular, his name was Kyle Matthysse, and another guy named David Kornforth... I was working at a plant with him, and I was starting to get out of shape because I was drinking beer all the time. I was in the construction industry, and the lifestyle was getting worse and worse."

He added:

"And, I wanted to get in shape, and these two guys in particular had done MMA or Jiu-Jitsu in the past, and they were like, 'Hey man, you should try MMA. You can get in shape, and then you can learn to defend yourself.' So, that in turn led me to trying the gym I'm at now." [11:26]