Mike Malott, you\u2019re just the third Canadian ever\u2014along with Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald\u2014to headline a UFC event in your native country, you\u2019re it\u2019s current best hope to contend for a championship, and you\u2019re expected to dominate a longtime welterweight contender or see your hype train be derailed forever.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s UFC Winnipeg headliners have no illusions about what this fight means to them; for Malott, a win over Gilbert Burns would by far be the most meaningful of his 17-fight pro run; for Burns, he\u2019s out to prove there\u2019s still something left in the tank after losing his past four fights and that he\u2019s not just a stepping stone for the current generation of welterweight stars.<\/p>\n
Objectively speaking, tonight\u2019s card is on the weaker side if we\u2019re comparing it to the UFC\u2019s usual non-numbered road show fare, but the stakes at the top of the card couldn\u2019t be higher for Malott and Burns at this stage of their careers.<\/p>\n
In other main card action, Charles Jourdain continues his resurgent bantamweight campaign when he fights Kyler Phillips, Bellator veteran Mandel Nallo makes his long-awaited UFC debut as he takes on Jai Herbert in a lightweight contest, flyweight contender Jasmine Jasudavicius looks to bounce back from a streak-busting loss as she fights Karine Silva, and lightweight veteran Thiago Moises faces Gauge Young.<\/p>\n
Where: Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada<\/p>\n
When: Saturday, April 18. The seven-fight early preliminary card begins at 5 p.m. ET, followed by a five-fight main card at 8 p.m. ET. The entire event streams live on Paramount+.<\/p>\n
Gilbert Burns vs. Mike Malott<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s not harp too much on whether this could be the end of the line for Gilbert Burns. He turns 40 in July, he\u2019s been through countless wars, and he\u2019s in the worst slump of his career. But let\u2019s allow Burns to tell us when he\u2019s done rather than nudge him out the door.<\/p>\n
Now, Mike Malott, we\u2019ve got a lot to talk about here.<\/p>\n
At 34, Malott is no spring chicken himself, so there\u2019s a healthy amount of urgency here if the Ontario native ever hopes to fight for a UFC title. His lone loss inside the octagon came against perennial contender Neil Magny and now Malott gets another chance to prove he\u2019s worthy of a top 15 spot. Malott is the definition of the modern UFC welterweight, well-rounded with decent athleticism and power in his hands.<\/p>\n
The key for Malott will be neutralizing Burns\u2019 grappling and turning this into a striking battle. Yes, Malott can do some damage on the ground himself, but he\u2019ll be at a disadvantage if they roll for an extended period of time and even with five rounds to work, Malott can\u2019t afford to fall behind early.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m picking Malott because I think Burns has entered the \u201che\u2019s doing well until he isn\u2019t\u201d phase of his career, joining the likes of Israel Adesanya, Tony Ferguson, and far too many others. Malott will catch him and score a knockdown or two, and probably even threaten a finish, en route to a statement decision win.<\/p>\n
Kyler Phillips vs. Charles Jourdain<\/p>\n
I swear there\u2019s still time for Kyler Phillips to be a UFC champion.<\/p>\n
Look, I get it. He hasn\u2019t been active enough (10 fights in six years isn\u2019t going to cut it). He hasn\u2019t been consistent. It\u2019s been a while since he\u2019s really wowed fans with a performance. Maybe I\u2019m still hanging on to how he started his UFC career as opposed to the fighter he is now. I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the uncertainty surrounding Charles Jourdain. At featherweight, Jourdain showed plenty of flashes of talent, but never put together a consistent run and by his own admission, he didn\u2019t always take his preparation seriously. Now at bantamweight, he\u2019s picked up two finishes over respected veterans Davey Grant and Victor Henry, and there\u2019s a chance he\u2019s the Canadian contender we should really be keeping an eye on.<\/p>\n
This matchup is closely lined and for good reason. Phillips\u2019 boxing makes him a threat to beat anyone at 135 pounds (yeah, I said it!) and he has an underrated ground game, but Jourdain has also shown he\u2019s comfortable trading strikes or snatching necks (his past three wins have all come by guillotine choke).<\/p>\n
I have Phillips by decision even though I know I\u2019m living in the past.<\/p>\n
Mandel Nallo vs. Jai Herbert<\/p>\n
Better late than never for Mandel Nallo.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t see a lot of lightweights make their UFC debuts at the age of 36, but that\u2019s the situation Canada\u2019s own Nallo finds himself in as he enters the octagon for the first time against English veteran Jai Herbert. At a glance, Nallo\u2019s do-or-die results (zero decisions to date) would have you think he\u2019s a reckless berserker \u00e0 la Terrance McKinney, but that\u2019s not the case. Nallo fights with plenty of patience and is more of an opportunist when it comes to hunting for finishes.<\/p>\n
And boy, is he good at taking advantage of opportunities when they arise. The former Bellator standout has an almost preternatural ability to sense when his opponent\u2019s defense is ready to crack and he exploits it to the fullest; on the flip side, he can be overly patient and that might not fly against a striker of Jai Herbert\u2019s caliber.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack Country Banger\u201d is the perfect matchup for Nallo, similar in age and overall experience, and someone who will oblige if fans are expecting a standup duel. Herbert is on a five-fight streak of going to the cards, so I\u2019m curious to see if he takes a more strategic approach or ups the tempo to catch Nallo off guard.<\/p>\n
Nallo needing the judges feels wrong, so I\u2019m picking him to land a knockout blow before the halfway mark of the fight. \u201cRat Garbage\u201d forever.<\/p>\n
Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Karine Silva<\/p>\n
Jasmine Jasudavicius\u2019 knockout loss to Manon Fiorot was a huge letdown, but we\u2019re not counting her out just yet.<\/p>\n
Even if you don\u2019t think Jasudavicius is the most skilled fighter, she brings a level of intensity that is difficult to match. Aggression and pace can take you a long way in MMA, and Jasudavicius has made the most of it, outworking the likes of Jessica Andrade, Mayra Bueno Silva, and Ariane da Silva. She just needs to protect that chin better.<\/p>\n
That shouldn\u2019t be a huge concern against Karine Silva, who has primarily been a grappler in her UFC career. That\u2019s not to say Silva can\u2019t be dangerous on the feet, but Jasudavicius should have less to worry about than she did against Fiorot when it comes to closing the distance in this matchup. So it will come down to who can be busier and I favor Jasudavicius to work her way out of some sticky situations and win positions while dishing out ground-and-pound.<\/p>\n
Jasudavicius by decision.<\/p>\n
Thiago Moises vs. Gauge Young<\/p>\n
This could be a frustrating fight for Thiago Moises. As experienced as Moises is, he\u2019s never been known for being the speediest lightweight, to put it kindly, and that\u2019s a problem because Gauge Young is all about sticking and moving and just generally being a pest. And I mean that as a compliment!<\/p>\n
Moises is at his best when he can dictate the pace and draw opponents into his web. He\u2019ll have to rely on guile to trap Young, who has great footwork and a wicked jab that\u2019s the foundation of a steady boxing attack. We\u2019ll find out early if Moises has studied enough tape to prevent Young from controlling the distance, because if he doesn\u2019t have a plan, Young is going to pick him apart for 15 minutes.<\/p>\n
Young also knows his way around a sprawl, so how exactly does Moises win this? Well, I\u2019m picking him, because I\u2019m guessing he can force the action and eventually get a hold of Young and wrestle him to the ground, where Young will be stuck. It won\u2019t be pretty and Moises will likely have his nose bloodied, but he\u2019ll also wear Young down and snag a submission before it\u2019s all said and done.<\/p>\n
Marcio Barbosa def. Dennis Buzukja<\/p>\n
Julien Leblanc def. Robert Valentin<\/p>\n
Tanner Boser def. Gokhan Saricam<\/p>\n
Melissa Croden def. Daria Zhelezniakova<\/p>\n
JJ Aldrich def. Jamey-Lyn Horth<\/p>\n
Mark Vologdin def. John Castaneda<\/p>\n
Jamie Siraj def. John Yannis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mike Malott, you\u2019re just the third Canadian ever\u2014along with Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald\u2014to headline a UFC event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[49,48,701,82,640,702],"class_list":{"0":"post-612634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-latest-news","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-ufc","13":"tag-ufc-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}