Ethyn Ewing finds balancing act from UFC MSG to mere Fight Night spot

Ethyn Ewing's UFC debut was such a storybook situation that whatever came next almost was certain to be a letdown. This past November, Ewing got word Malcolm Wellmaker needed a new opponent at UFC 322. Most fighters early in their MMA careers will take a shot to get into the UFC no matter the circumstances, and Ewing was no different.

Yet, he was very different in that he was just a few days past a title fight win at bantamweight for Urijah Faber's A1 Combat promotion in California. The turnaround from his first-round knockout win was just a week – and it was at Madison Square Garden in New York. Up a division at featherweight under the circumstances, he was a big underdog to Wellmaker, who entered the fight unbeaten.

But the 5-1 favorite was outworked by the short-notice Ewing throughout and dropped a decision. "You fly out on 48 hours' notice, you fight an undefeated KO artist who is up-and-coming in the UFC and you beat him unanimously, then it is a fantastic night," Ewing recently told MMA Junkie Radio. "… Hindsight's 20-20 (for my performance), but I'm all about (that debut).

I'm ready for anybody they put in front of me. So to start with a guy like Malcolm Wellmaker and then to get that boost and that jump into the division is fantastic. " Ewing (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) takes on a second straight unbeaten bantamweight standout when he meets Rafael Estevam (14-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 272 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.