\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4143713_web1_260415-UFC-Jasmine-2-.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press<\/p>\n
Jasmine Jasudavicius from St. Catharines, Ont., the No. 7-ranked flyweight, faces Brazilian Karine Silva on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The current face of Canadian MMA is Mike Malott. The 34-year-old from Burlington, Ont., is in the main event against veteran Brazilian fighter Gilbert Burns.<\/p>\n
Malott is no stranger to the city as his younger brother Jeff \u2014 a forward with the Los Angeles Kings \u2014 started his pro hockey career with the Manitoba Moose and played a game for the Winnipeg Jets in March 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinnipeg holds a special place in his heart and my family\u2019s heart,\u201d said Malott, who was in town last month for a promotional tour.<\/p>\n
This is the third time the city has hosted the UFC, but first since 2017. Malott is also the first Canadian-born fighter in the main event of one of the promotion\u2019s shows since Montreal\u2019s Felicia Spencer at UFC 250 on June 6, 2020.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s 6-1 since Dana White started signing his cheques in 2022.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing I enjoyed the most about Winnipeg was just how excited everyone was that the UFC was coming back. People are truly grateful to have the UFC back in Winnipeg,\u201d said Malott.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt important to them, it felt like people really value this and it just made me so much more excited to head back to Ontario and finish out my camp and come to Winnipeg to perform.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burns, a 39-year-old on a four-fight losing skid, likely won\u2019t receive a typical warm Canadian welcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s going to be some boos, I\u2019m OK with that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I look forward to stealing the crowd in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS files<\/p>\n Mike Malott is the only one of the nine Canadians on the UFC card Saturday at Canada Life Centre who has been to Winnipeg before.<\/p>\n Out of the nine Canadians, Malott is the only one that has been to the Manitoba capital before.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s more potholes than in Montreal. It\u2019s insane,\u201d said bantamweight Charles Jourdain. The Quebecer is in the co-main event against American Kyler Phillips.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very different city than what I had in mind, but when it comes to interacting with people, they\u2019re very nice.\u201d<\/p>\n Montreal\u2019s Mandel Nallo is a 36-year-old journeyman who finally got the call to make his UFC debut this weekend. He\u2019ll square off against England\u2019s Jai Herbert in a lightweight bout.<\/p>\n \u201cWinnipeg is an amazing spot to have your debut because of the intimacy of the show. This is a small town, and on Saturday night, everything in this town will be happening around the fight card,\u201d said Nallo.<\/p>\n \u201cWhereas when we fight in New York or Vegas, the vast majority of the city has no idea what you\u2019re doing \u2014 you\u2019re just another piece of entertainment in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Edmonton product Tanner Boser is a heavyweight who was released by the UFC in 2023. It forced him to get a job at a maximum security prison, but eight weeks ago he received an offer to fight Saturday against Turkey\u2019s Gokhan Saricam.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nine Canadians on the card, which is awesome, but I\u2019m the hometown guy here,\u201d said Boser, who was born in Bonnyville, Alta.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is still the West, all right. A lot of guys are from out East. We\u2019re all one here, but I guarantee I\u2019m the guy in Winnipeg.\u201d<\/p>\n The festivities will begin with Vancouver\u2019s Jamie Siraj, another UFC first-timer, kicking off the undercard against American John Yannis in featherweight action.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press<\/p>\n Gilbert Burns, who faces Canadian Mike Malott in the main event on Saturday, believes he can win over the crowd at Canada Life Centre.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel that this is a great opporunity for Canadians to remind people who we are,\u201d said Siraj.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to set the tone and let people know there\u2019s a new guy in Canada to watch out for.\u201d<\/p>\n Siraj, 31, had a brain infection in 2020 that forced him into a coma. He went septic and almost died in early 2022. He spent over a year in the hospital and wasn\u2019t able to compete from mid-2019 to mid-2023.<\/p>\n He somehow managed to regain his form to go 6-1 on the regional circuit before earning a UFC deal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt made me very grateful for every day I get to be alive. MMA is a crazy journey, but there\u2019s no journey like what I went through,\u201d said Siraj.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing in that cage I can see that\u2019s darker than what I went through, so, I feel so prepared to fight at this level.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n