The 31-year-old began his mixed martial arts journey in 2018, competing in 10 amateur bouts before turning pro. It took just six professional fights for the still-undefeated prospect to gain the attention of UFC brass and earn an opportunity to fight in front of them on Dana White’s Contender Series. His first-round finish that night earned him a contract and set the stage for the two emphatic victories that followed.
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“Getting in the UFC and having success was something I had visions of, but the way that it’s manifested itself was wilder than I ever thought it would be,” Wellmaker said. “I always knew I could knock people out. In my heart, I knew I could fight with the best in the world but to get on the biggest stage and to knock out guys with names and to be doing so in the first round virtually untouched is incredible, man. It’s a dream come true.”
A crucial part of Wellmaker’s continued success is the team that’s been with him from the very beginning. Despite the new attention and accolades, he’s never strayed from his roots.
“I still train at the gym I started at,” Wellmaker said. “ I got partners that have been training partners of mine from day one… I still got teammates that can give me a hard time. I got teammates that if they start on my back, I’m probably not getting them off. I got teammates that if we box, I’m on the backfoot. I got teammates that keep me humble… I got a team of guys around me that I respect so much that’s going to be honest with me and tell me things I don’t want to hear.”
While his rise happened quickly once he arrived in the UFC, the journey to get here was anything but easy. What began as an escape from bad habits quickly turned into a life-changing pursuit that reshaped every part of who he was.
