EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada– Mike Malott had to go against his nature in his return to the octagon.

UFC welterweights entered Saturday’s competition UFC Fight Night 246 with a 100 percent finishing rate, but had to spoil that personal stat for his fight against Trevin Giles (16-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC). Malott (11-2-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) wanted to earn his first-ever decision victory, and also wanted to avoid losing a second straight fight, as he was coming off a TKO loss to veteran Neil Magny.

“I felt like I had to check my ego a little bit in this one,” Malott told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 246 post-fight press conference. “I’m proud of put guys away, and I’m like, ‘Look, if you get a stoppage, it’s incredible. If you spend 15 minutes in the cage and you win a decision in 15 minutes, it’s incredible. just on the way to victory and we can focus on the rest later I was really happy to get this 15 minutes of experience and feel this time in the cage.

The Malott vs. Giles fight wasn’t the most exciting fight on the card, but Malott is OK with that. The Canadian was mainly focused on getting back into the win column and also felt comfortable before making a decision.

Malott thinks it was up to Giles to seek the finish, not him.

“I had a few moments in there where I was like, ‘All right, let’s beat this guy’s ass – let’s put it on him.’ But look, man, I felt like I was winning most of the fight, and I felt like I was in control of the fight for most of it,” Malott said. “I felt it was 30-27. I know he had a few moments, especially early in the second, but nothing really painful or anything, just optics that didn’t look good. I felt like I was separating him. I felt like I was getting the best shots. … I felt like I was on my way to winning a decision. On the contrary, it is his responsibility to take risks. I’m winning right now – I don’t need to take these huge risks.

To learn more about the card, visit MMA Junkie’s Event Center for UFC Fight Night 246.