Mandel Nallo Takes Photos of Dead Rats, Calls Himself 'Rat Garbage,' and Just Started Knocking People Out in the UFC at 37 Years Old

I need to tell you about Mandel Nallo because this dude's story is one of the strangest, most compelling paths to the UFC I've ever come across.

Born in Vancouver. Moved to Ghana at 10. Back to Canada as a teenager. Dropped out of college. Lived in GSP's gym dorms. Called himself "Rat Garbage" for years. Takes photographs of dead rats as a creative hobby. Spent a decade in Bellator and on the regional circuit getting told he was too old for the UFC. Finally earned a contract on the Contender Series at 36, told Dana White "I'm not a prospect, I'm a finished product," made his UFC debut last month in Houston and got a first round TKO, and now fights Jai Herbert in Winnipeg on April 18.

15-3 with one no contest. Twelve of those wins didn't make it to the second round. Georges St-Pierre personally called him after his worst loss and told him to stop overthinking. And this man's hobbies are watching people play video games on Twitch, hanging out with his wife and kids, and photographing dead rats.

I am not making any of this up bro.

Vancouver to Ghana to Ottawa to the Cage

Mandel Nallo was born in Vancouver, Canada. His dad is from West Africa, his mom is from England. He grew up on Vancouver Island, which if you've never been there is about as far from the MMA world as you can possibly get. Beautiful place. Very chill. Not exactly a breeding ground for professional cage fighters.

When he was 10, his family packed up and moved to Ghana. Now think actually think about this. You're a kid on Vancouver Island and one day your family tells you you're moving to West Africa. That's a wild thing to process at any age, let alone as a ten year old. He lived there for four or five years before the family moved back to Canada, this time settling in Ottawa.

No sport in high school caught his attention. Nothing stuck. He wasn't a wrestler. He wasn't a football kid. He was the kid watching Jackie Chan movies and falling in love with how amazing choreographed martial arts looked on screen. His mom eventually signed him up for Japanese jiu-jitsu when he was 15 or 16 because he needed something to do. That was his entry point into combat sports. Not wrestling, not boxing, not some lifelong dream. Jackie Chan movies and a mom who was tired of her kid having no hobbies.

He attended Carleton University in Ottawa for a year and a half before dropping out to focus on MMA. That decision led him to start commuting on weekends from Ottawa to Montreal to train at Tristar Gym, which is basically the Harvard of Canadian MMA. Firas Zahabi's gym, GSP's gym. The gym that produced some of the most technically complete fighters the sport has ever seen.

And that's where Nallo's life changed. He moved into the Tristar dorms, started training full time, and eventually got good enough that he was sparring with Georges St-Pierre ahead of UFC 111 in 2010. A kid from Vancouver Island who moved to Ghana and dropped out of college was sparring with the GOAT of Canadian MMA. That's the kind of detail that sounds made up until you realize Tristar has always operated like that. If you show up and you work, you train with the best.

The Rat Garbage Era

Okay so the nickname. I need to explain the nickname because it's one of the best names in MMA.

When Nallo was living in the Tristar dorms with other fighters, somebody told him he needed an Instagram account for his fighting career. They sat around brainstorming names. But instead of going with something intimidating or marketable, Nallo and his roommates decided to come up with the worst possible name for a professional fighter's social media account. The antithesis of what you're supposed to do.

"Rat Garbage" was the one that was available. He says if "Rat Lord" or "Garbage King" had been open, those would've been his name instead. But Rat Garbage was what the internet gave him, and it stuck.

And then he leaned into it, hard. He started taking photographs of dead rats he found around Montreal. Not as a joke. As an actual creative outlet. He described it as "embracing the less pretty side of life" and said he keeps doing it because it keeps the creative part of his brain sharp. His Instagram used to be full of rat photos turned into collage art pieces.

When asked about his hobbies in a 2019 Bellator interview, Nallo said: "I like hanging out with my family. I like watching video games on Twitch and I like taking pictures of dead rats. That's it."

That's the whole man right there. Family, twitch, dead rats, fighting.

And the rat philosophy goes deeper than the name. "Everyone wants to be a lion, but a rat will do anything to survive," Nallo said. "That's what I want to do in my fight." There's something genuinely profound about a fighter choosing to identify with the least glamorous animal possible and then using that identity to fuel his approach to combat. Lions are flashy. Rats survive.

He's since moved away from the nickname a bit. After getting the UFC contract, he said his parents were "happy that I'm no longer Rat Garbage" and that maybe it's more of an alter ego now. His current listed nickname is "Mango," which is a significant downgrade in terms of weirdness but probably better for the UFC's marketing department.

Bellator, the Regionals, and the Long Road

Nallo made his pro debut in November 2012 and spent the next several years building a record on the Canadian and international regional circuit. He signed with Bellator in 2017 and made his promotional debut with an 18-second head kick knockout at Bellator 189. 18-seconds. First fight in a major promotion and he nearly took the dude's head off before the crowd even finished sitting down.

His Bellator run was a mixed bag. 4-3 with one no contest across five years. He had viral knockout moments, especially the KO of Carrington Banks that ESPN shared everywhere, and a nasty superman punch finish of Ricardo Seixas at Bellator 255. But he also lost to higher level competition, including a submission loss to Adam Piccolotti at Bellator 293 in March 2023 that ended his time with the promotion.

That Piccolotti loss is important because of what happened next. GSP called Nallo on the drive back to the airport. The greatest welterweight in UFC history picked up the phone and gave a mid card Bellator fighter advice after a loss. "He just gave me some advice on how I should be competing and maybe to help myself not get in my own head," Nallo said. "That had always been a trouble of mine. Just overthinking and freezing in the big moments."

That phone call changed his career. Nallo won five straight after the Bellator exit, all first round finishes, all on the regional circuit where the money is bad and the exposure is worse. He was grinding. Teaching private lessons to pay rent. Commuting between Toronto, where his wife and kids live, and Montreal, where he trains. Happy to scrape by because all he really cared about was training.

"When you're not in a major, the world is rough. Especially right now, the MMA game is tough out there," Nallo said after earning his UFC contract. "And for a guy who's skilled, nobody wants to fight you, the money's rough."

"I'm Not a Prospect. I'm a Finished Product."

September 2, 2025. Dana White's Contender Series. Week 4. Mandel Nallo vs Samuel Silva. Main event.

Nallo dropped Silva with a short right to the chin and finished him on the ground with four straight blows. First round TKO. His fifth consecutive first round finish. His twelfth career fight that didn't make it to the second round.

Dana White's reaction: "I do not love your age but I love your style. Get over here, I'm going to give you a shot."

Nallo's response was the line that should follow him forever: "I know you guys aren't looking for 36 year old prospects. But I'm not a prospect, I'm a finished product. You can plug me in anywhere."

That's one of the hardest things a fighter has ever said after a Contender Series fight. No begging. No false humility. Just a 36 year old man who'd been grinding for 13 years telling the UFC president exactly what he is. A finished product. Not a project. Not a development piece. A guy who's ready right now.

GSP's endorsement came right after: "Keep your eye on him. He's very good."

When Georges St-Pierre tells you to watch somebody, you watch.

The UFC: Already 1-0 and Climbing

Nallo made his official UFC debut on February 21 at the Strickland vs Hernandez card in Houston. First round TKO. Because of course it was. The man finishes people. That's what he does. Twelve of his 15 career wins haven't seen a second round. At some point, the pattern stops being a coincidence and starts being an identity.

He's now 1-0 in the UFC at 37 years old. His next fight is April 18 against Jai Herbert at UFC Fight Night in Winnipeg. Herbert is a tough, experienced British lightweight who's been in there with Ilia Topuria and Renato Moicano. This is a real test. If Nallo passes it the way he's passed every test in the last two years, people are going to have to start paying serious attention.

The lightweight division is one of the deepest in MMA. Topuria holds the belt. Gaethje has the interim. Tsarukyan, Moicano, Oliveira, Dariush, all of them are lurking. There's no easy path to the top. But Nallo isn't thinking about titles right now. He's thinking about the next fight, the next first-round finish, the next chance to prove that age is just a number when you've been sharpening your craft for over two decades.

"I told Dana, run me. I want to work," Nallo said after the Contender Series. And the UFC listened.

Why This Story Matters

Mandel Nallo's story is one of a kind. This isn't a blue chip prospect who went undefeated on the regional circuit and got fast tracked to the UFC at 23. This is a guy who was born in Vancouver, moved to Ghana as a kid, came back to Canada, discovered fighting through Jackie Chan movies, dropped out of college, lived in gym dorms, called himself Rat Garbage, spent a decade in Bellator and on the regionals, got life advice from GSP after his worst loss, and finally made the UFC at 36.

He's a father of two who commutes between cities to train. He's opening a gym with friends. He takes photos of dead rats. He said the thing he cares about most is training and that everything else, the fame, the money, the spotlight, is secondary to the work.

In a sport that increasingly rewards hype over substance, trash talk over skill, and social media followers over fight records, Mandel Nallo is a reminder that some fighters just want to fight. No gimmicks. No feuds. No manufactured drama. Just show up, knock somebody out in the first round, and go home to your family.

The rat survives. And right now, in the deepest division in MMA, this particular rat is thriving.

Thanks for riding with CageLore. Stay locked in!

Frequently Asked Questions About Mandel Nallo

Who is Mandel Nallo?

Mandel Nallo is a 37 year old Canadian lightweight currently competing in the UFC. He has a professional MMA record of 15-3 with one no-contest. Born in Vancouver to a West African father and English mother, he trains at Tristar Gym in Montreal under Firas Zahabi and holds a black belt in Japanese Jiu-Jitsu.

What is Mandel Nallo's UFC record?

Nallo is 1-0 in the UFC after winning his debut by first round TKO at the Strickland vs Hernandez card in Houston on February 21, 2026. He earned his UFC contract through Dana White's Contender Series in September 2025.

When is Mandel Nallo's next fight?

Nallo faces Jai Herbert on April 18, 2026 at UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Malott in Winnipeg, Canada. The fight is on the preliminary card at lightweight.

Why was Nallo called "Rat Garbage"?

The nickname came from brainstorming the worst possible Instagram name while living in the Tristar Gym dorms with other fighters. He embraced it for years, building a philosophy around it: "Everyone wants to be a lion, but a rat will do anything to survive." He's since moved away from the name, now going by "Mango."

Did Nallo fight in Bellator?

Yes. Nallo competed in Bellator MMA from 2017 to 2023, going 4-3 with one no contest. He made his Bellator debut with an 18-second head kick KO and had several viral knockout highlights. His last Bellator fight was a submission loss to Adam Piccolotti in March 2023.

What is Nallo's connection to Georges St-Pierre?

Nallo trained at GSP's Tristar Gym and sparred with St-Pierre ahead of UFC 111 in 2010. After Nallo's last Bellator loss, GSP called him on his drive to the airport to give him advice about not overthinking in fights. After Nallo earned his UFC contract, GSP publicly endorsed him: "Keep your eye on him. He's very good."