|
Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Winnipeg
Laying Out The Lineup For UFC’s Return To The Great Fight North This Weekend For UFC Fight Night: Burns vs Malott
By E. Spencer Kyte
For the first time in more than eight years, UFC returns to the Winnipeg, Manitoba for a Fight Night event at Canada Life Centre this weekend, headlined by a fascinating welterweight matchup between former title challenger Gilbert Burns and ascending Canadian Mike Malott.
Nine Canadians are set to make the walk in their home country, including three newcomers, and the card is giving off a real “action is coming” vibe as the week begins, so rather than continue to wax poetic, let’s dive into the matchups that are coming your way on Saturday night just down the block from the “Crossroads of Canada.”
Enjoy!
Main Event: Gilbert Burns vs Mike Malott
Saturday’s main event pits welterweights moving in opposite directions against one another as Gilbert Burns faces off with “Proper” Mike Malott.
Currently stationed at No. 11 in the rankings, Burns enters on a four-fight losing streak, but it’s one of those runs that must be qualified because the level of talent he’s faced lessens the impact of those defeats, in my opinion. After dropping back-to-back contests to former champs Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena, “Durinho” suffered a unanimous decision loss to Sean Brady, who is currently ranked No. 6, and was knocked out by unbeaten standout Michael Morales, who followed that up by knocking out Brady to cement his standing as a contender.
Malott touches down for his first UFC main event on a three-fight winning streak, having stopped Charles Radtke and out-hustled Kevin Holland last year after righting the ship with a win over Trevin Giles in Edmonton at the end of 2024. He’s grown as a fighter throughout his seven-fight run in the UFC and has earned an opportunity like this, based on both his results (6-1) and the fact that he’s the leader of the “Maple Leaf Militia,” and now he gets a chance to force his way into the rankings with a fourth straight win.
There is a different kind of pressure attached to this fight than Malott’s Toronto homecoming at UFC 297, where he was up 2-0 on Neil Magny before faltering and getting finished. He’s a better fighter than he was then, without question, but Burns is more accomplished and dangerous than Magny, so this is even higher stakes. Writing the Brazilian off heading into this one based on his recent results and age would be a mistake and a win would still be a massive triumph for the headlining Ontario boy.
Additional Main Card Matchups
Kyler Phillips vs Charles Jourdain
The co-main event is a compelling bantamweight clash between divisional fixture Kyler Phillips and surging French-Canadian Charles Jourdain.
Consecutive losses to Rob Font and Vinicius Oliveira have caused Phillips to slip from the rankings in the ultra-competitive 135-pound weight class, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that he’s a well-rounded and dangerous fighter who counts wins over Song Yadong, Raoni Barcelos, and Pedro Munhoz amongst his UFC wins. He trains with a great group at the MMA Lab, has to be feeling a little pressure to get on the right side of things again, especially with an assignment like this, and will likely come out of the gates sharp and firing on Saturday night.
Jourdain has been brilliant in a pair of bantamweight starts, becoming the first person to submit Victor Henry in his debut in Edmonton and then following it up with a first-round submission win over Davey Grant last year in Vancouver. The tattooed Quebecor looks like he’s found the right place to put together a run, but breaking into the rankings at bantamweight is a daunting task.
This is a perfect bit of matchmaking as Phillips can instantly rehab his standing by stopping Jourdain’s climb, while “Air” can keep ascending if he’s able to style on the former Top 15 mainstay. Expect all-out action for as long as this one lasts; bonuses are in play here for sure.
Mandel Nallo vs Jai Herbert
Canadian newcomer Mandel Nallo gets a chance to make an instant impression in the lightweight division as he faces off with British veteran Jai Herbert in the featured bout of Saturday’s main card.
A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series Class of ’25 that has already amassed a 30-4 combined record inside the Octagon, Nallo is one of the more complete and seasoned graduates to come off the show in recent years: a 36-year-old product of the Tristar Gym who has earned five straight first-round stoppage wins since wrapping up his run with Bellator midway through 2023. He starched former Cage Warriors champ Samuel Silva to earn his contract and can jump the queue and move straight into the middle of the division with an impressive win here.
Herbert is one of those guys that never quite got his feet under him in the UFC because he arrived as a Cage Warriors champ and burgeoning star in England, was hustled into daunting assignments straight away, and has been playing catch-up ever since. He went 1-3 out of the gates with losses to Francisco Trinaldo, Renato Moicano, and Ilia Topuria, but has been sharp and competitive over is last five outings, scoring a pair of wins, two narrow defeats on the cards, and a draw with Ludovit Klein in a fight many feel he deserved to win.
Will Nallo hit the ground running and earn a sixth straight win to begin his UFC tenure or can the “Black Country Banger” ruin his debut by registering a fourth victory inside the Octagon?
Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Karine Silva
In terms of their rankings, this is the most consequential fight on the card as Top 10 flyweights Jasmine Jasudavicius and Karine Silva share the Octagon as they kick off their respective 2026 campaigns.
Jasudavicius, who enters at No. 7, had her five-fight winning streak halted last time out in Vancouver, running afoul of former title challenger Manon Fiorot. She’s shown a tremendous ability to bounce back from defeats thus far in her UFC career and has improved dramatically over the course of her time on the roster, so another reset and rebound here after a longer than normal break seems reasonable to expect.
Currently sitting two spots behind Jasudavicius in the Top 10, Silva touches down in Winnipeg in an interesting spot, having dropped two of her last three after winning four straight to begin her UFC tenure. At her best, she’s a dangerous top position grappler that will dive on submission and force you to be defensively focused or else pay the ultimate price.
There has been a couple impressive outings in the flyweight division over the last month and business is sure to pick up once summer hits, so it’s crucial for each of these women to have a strong effort her to cement their place in the pecking order and set up another marquee assignment later this year.
Thiago Moises vs Gauge Young
Lightweight veteran Thiago Moises returns to action for the first time in nearly a year, stepping in with intriguing Midwest prospect Gauge Young.
Now in his eighth year on the roster, Moises makes his first start since suffering a first-round knockout loss to Jared Gordon, looking to maintain his pattern of alternating results for at least one fight. Now training with the Fighting Nerds, the 31-year-old has lived in the Second 15 in the 155-pound weight class for the majority of his time on the roster, and has routinely bested less experienced types, so this profiles as a perfect opportunity to open the year with a win and start trying to make headway in the division once again.
The 25-year-old Young went the distance in defeat during his Dana White’s Contender Series appearance in 2024, landing on the wrong side of the cards against Quillan Salkilld, who has since gone 4-0 in the UFC with three finishes and is set to face Beneil Dariush in the co-main event of next month’s return to Perth. After a short-notice loss to former training partner Evan Elder last April in his debut, Young collected his first win in August, getting the better of Maheshate in Shanghai while showcasing a little more of his game.
Will the veteran rule the day or can Young claim the biggest win of his career and a second straight UFC victory abroad?
Dennis Buzukja vs Marcio Barbosa
Featherweights Dennis Buzukja and Marcio Barbosa open up the main card at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.
A long-time teammate and training partner of Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili now training out of The Goat Shed in Miami, Buzukja returns for the first time since August 2024 when he dropped a split decision to Francis Marshall. The two-time Contender Series contestant is just 1-3 inside the Octagon but battled hard in two of those three setbacks and should be chomping at the bit to get back in action after the longest layoff of his career.
Another Season 9 DWCS grad making his debut in Manitoba this weekend, Barbosa has earned four straight first-round stoppage wins and each of his last nine victories in the opening round, going 9-2 in that span, with his most recent setback coming against UFC featherweight Gabriel “Mosquitinho” Santos. The 27-year-old has only gone the distance once in 19 career fights, so be sure to be settled in once this one gets started.
This is exactly what you look for in a main card opener: a matchup between a pair of hungry athletes aiming to make a statement, and it will be surprising if it doesn’t live up to expectations.
Preliminary Card Pairings
Julien Leblanc vs Robert Valentin
Middleweights close out the preliminary card slate as newcomer Julien Leblanc faces off with former TUF finalist Robert Valentin.
Arriving on a five-fight winning streak with three consecutive stoppages, Leblanc is a well-rounded veteran of the Canadian regional circuit who trains alongside Marc-Andre Barriault both in their shared hometown of Gatineau, Quebec and at Kill Cliff FC in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Valentin was arguably the breakout fighter on Season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter, advancing to the middleweight finale while also taking on a coaching role with Team Grasso, but he hasn’t been able to parlay that run of success into victory inside the Octagon as of yet.
Tanner Boser vs Gokhan Saricam
Popular Canadian Tanner Boser makes his return to the UFC after a one-fight departure as he welcomes newcomer Gokhan Saricam to the Octagon for the first time.
Boser went 5-5 with the promotion between October ‘19 and August ’23, closing things out with a win at light heavyweight before bumping back up to the heavyweight ranks and besting UFC alum Vinicius Moreira last June in Abu Dhabi. Saricam is a 35-year-old debutant from Turkey who has earned three straight wins, consecutive first-round finishes, and had solid overall success under the Bellator banner.
Melissa Croden vs Dariya Zheleznyakova
Canadian bantamweight Melissa Croden makes her third start in seven months on Saturdy, returning to The Great White North to face off with Russia’s Dariya Zheleznyakova.
The 35-year-old Alberta resident chased down a third-round stoppage win in her debut last October in Vancouver before landing on the wrong side of the cards in a short notice pairing with Luana Santos on the final card of 2025. Zheleznyakov makes her 2026 debut after leveling her personal series with Melissa Mullins at one win each while moving to 2-1 inside the Octagon with a victory last June in Azerbaijan.
JJ Aldrich vs Jamey-Lyn Horth
Action shifts to the flyweight ranks as divisional mainstay JJ Aldrich shares the Octagon with surging Canuck Jamey-Lyn Horth.
This will be Aldrich’s 17th UFC appearance, and she comes in having won three of her last four while cementing her standing as a veteran presence just outside the Top 15 in the competitive 125-pound weight class. After alternating results through her first four UFC starts, Horth has earned back-to-back wins and comes into this one off the best performance of her career — a first-round stoppage win over Tereza Bleda on the last card of 2025.
Mitch Raposo vs Allan Nascimento
Mitch Raposo and Allan Nascimento meet in an interesting pairing in the 125-pound weight class on Saturday’s prelims.
Raposo landed on the wrong side of split decision verdicts against unbeaten Brazilian Andre Lima and Chinese veteran Sumudaerji in his first two UFC appearances, and then bested Azat Maksum, who missed weight, on the cards last time out to register his first UFC win. Nascimento touches down north of the border on a four-fight winning streak, having most recently stopped Cody Durden last November.
John Castaneda vs Mark Vologdin
Minnesota’s John Castaneda ventures north to welcome recent DWCS grad Mark Vologdin to the UFC this weekend in Winnipeg.
The 34-year-old “Sexi Mexi” has split his eight starts inside the Octagon but enters having dropped consecutive competitive fights to Daniel Marcos and Chris Gutierrez. Vologdin engaged in a bloody war of attrition with Adrian Luna Martinetti last season on the Contender Series, landing on the wrong side of the results, but garnering a contract nonetheless, which tells you how impressed the UFC brass was with his tenacious approach and steely resolve.
Jamie Siraj vs Johnn Yannis
Featherweights open the show on Saturday as Canadian prospect Jamie Siraj steps in on short notice to face American John Yannis.
“The Gremlin” spent more than three years on the sidelines dealing with life-threatening medical issues, but has since returned to full health, posting a 6-1 record over his last seven, including back-to-back stoppage wins under the BFL banner. The 31-year-old Yannis makes his second foray into the Octagon after landing on the wrong side of things in his short notice debut last summer in Las Vegas.
_________________
So you wanna be a [bleeping] member? => Get access to the community <=
Looking for a seedbox? RuTorrent, qbitTorrent, Deluge and Transmission included in all packages! Unlimited torrents, unlimited transfers!
Perfect for both beginners and professionals. Watch the files directly in your browser without downloading or download to your device, up to you!
Really Fast 1 Gbit seedboxes - Professional support 24/7/365 - Click to learn more
To get a recurring 10% discount on all seedbox packages use the PROMO CODE: mmatorrents
|
UFC 327 - Prochazka vs. Ulberg
