UFC Winnipeg fight week is here. It wasn’t too long ago that the UFC last set foot in western Canada. Last October, Dana White’s promotion trekked to Vancouver for one of the last Fight Night cards on ESPN+.

It’s been a long wait for UFC fans based in the Winnipeg area to see the promotion in their own backyard, however. To find the last time Winnipeg hosted a UFC Fight Night, you’d need to go back to 2017, when a FOX UFC Fight Night was held inside Bell Centre.

Saturday’s card is just the third event ever in Winnipeg, and you can expect heavy Canadian representation in UFC Winnipeg over the weekend. Counting both prelims and main card fights, nine Canadian fighters will be making the walk to the fabled Octagon this coming Saturday at Canada Life Centre.

Live coverage of UFC Winnipeg begins at 5 pm ET/ 2 pm PT with the prelims, followed at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT by the main card on Paramount Plus. If there are no adjustments to be made to the schedule, the final version of this weekend’s event features a baker’s dozen, 13 fights on the docket.

UFC Winnipeg Featured Prelim: Julien Leblanc vs. Robert Valentin

Middleweights make the walk at the top of the undercard in Winnipeg on Saturday night when Julien Leblanc (10-2 MMA, UFC promotional debut,) an alumnus of both the LFA and Samourai MMA, fights in the UFC for the first time against Robert Valentin (10-6, 1 NC MMA, 0-3 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

Leblanc, the former Samourai MMA Middleweight Champion, enters his freshman UFC appearance on the strength of a 5-0 record in his last five fights. Most recently, he scored a second-round submission by way of rear-naked choke against Ryan Rohovich (6-10 MMA) back in November.

Leblanc is on a hot streak as he enters the UFC for UFC Winnipeg on Saturday night. Can he continue his winning ways on MMA’s biggest stage?

Meanwhile, Robert Valentin comes into Saturday’s featured prelim having gone 2-3 in his last five professional contests. Since joining the UFC after appearing in the 2024 season of The Ultimate Fighter television series, he’s yet to win in the Octagon.

On July 19 of last year, he was stopped by a first-round knockout from Ateba Gautier (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in UFC 319 from New Orleans. A planned Nov. 8 fight that was to have seen Robert Valentin battle Jackson McVey (6-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) was postponed after the former sustained a back injury prior to the show.

It’s been almost 10 months since Valentin fought. Will he shake off the ring rust with a long-awaited victory in UFC Winnipeg?

UFC Winnipeg Co-Featured Prelim: Tanner Boser vs. Gokhan Saricam

Heavyweights will do battle immediately beforehand in the co-featured undercard bout. Tanner Boser (22-10-1 MMA, 5-5 UFC) fights Gokhan Saricam (11-2 MMA, UFC promotional debut,) an alumnus of the late Bellator MMA.

Boser makes his 11th walk to the Octagon this weekend and his first since rejoining the UFC’s active roster in March. He’s gone 3-2 in his last five fights and has won two fights in succession. Last June, he bested Vinicius Moreira (16-9 MMA, 0-4 UFC) with a third-round TKO (retirement) in UAE Warriors 60.

After a brief hiatus from the promotion, Boser is back home in the UFC this weekend. Only time will tell if he secures his third straight win.

Across the way, Saricam has posted a 4-1 mark in the past five contests. He’s won three in succession, including a first-round knockout by ground and pound shots against Hiyago Silva (8-4-1 MMA) in one minute and 36 seconds.

Quick finishes are old hat for Saricam. Each of his last two wins have been recorded with under two minutes having elapsed from the first-round clock. Don’t leave the room to plate up some dinner on Saturday night. You could miss the end of the UFC Winnipeg co-featured prelim.

UFC Winnipeg: Melissa Croden vs. Darya Zheleznyakova

Also on UFC Winnipeg’s undercard, you’ll be treated to a women’s bantamweight affair matching Melissa Croden (7-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) against Darya Zheleznyakova (10-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC.) Croden comes into the undercard with a mark of 3-2 in her five latest fights.

Last time out, she saw a three-fight win streak end at the hands of Luana Santos on the final UFC Fight Night to stream over ESPN+ via unanimous decision. A fighter can be dangerous when she’s on a hot streak, but when she’s trying to return to the win column after a defeat, she can be just as brutal.

Can she return to victory lane in her third UFC appearance? Tune in and find out.

In the other corner, Darya Zheleznyakova is sporting a 3-2 record in her last five trips to the cage, but it’s been nearly 10 months since she fought. Last June, she trekked to Baku, Azerbaijan, emerging victorious from a unanimous decision after 15 minutes of action.

A Nov. 8 fight versus Melissa Mullins was scrapped after Zheleznyakova withdrew from the event at the Meta Apex. She’s been waiting for almost a year to get back to action, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens when the cage door closes this weekend.

Rest of the Prelims

UFC Winnipeg’s undercard is rounded out by these fights:

a women’s flyweight bout between No. 14 contender JJ Aldrich (14-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) and Jamey-Lyn Horth (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC,)
a flyweight contest matching Mitch Raposo (10-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) against Allan Nascimento (22-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC,)
a bantamweight showcase pairing John Castaneda (21-8 MMA, 4-4 UFC) with Mark Vologdin (12-4-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut,)
and a bantamweight affair versing Jamie Siraj (14-3 MMA, UFC promotional debut) and John Yannis (9-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC.)

Which prelims are you looking forward to on UFC Winnipeg? Let us know in the comments.