Last night (Sat., April 18, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for UFC Winnipeg. In the main event, fast-rising Canadian contender Mike Malott hoped to climb into the Top 10 by dispatching former title contender Gilbert Burns. The co-main event featured another Canadian standout in Charles Jourdain, as “Air” aimed to maintain his undefeated Bantamweight record versus Kyler Phillips. The card was a bit panned ahead of time,
but could the fights themselves exceed expectations?
Let’s take a look back over the best performances and techniques of the evening:
Oh Canada!
Canadian fighters generally had a rough night at the office, but “Proper” Mike got the job done in the main event.
This was really a boxing showcase for Malott, who is better known for his kick-heavy, switch-hitting attack. Faced with a jiu-jitsu ace in Burns, Malott stayed within his stance and didn’t offer up his leg often. Instead, he was popping the jab, staying in position to block Burns’ wide swings and return fire. His focus on the jab opened him up to some of Burns’ calf kicks, but it ultimately paid off. By round two, he was finding a home for his right hand around Burns’ high-guard, and his punches wobbled the veteran Brazilian every time.
Malott stayed patient in pursuit of the finish. Before too long, he clipped Burns with a hard uppercut-left hook combination that sat him down hard. Malott followed up with some heavy ground strikes, and his first-ever main event victory was sealed. The Canadian has now won four in a row and seven of eight overall, and he’ll be at least No. 11 in the rankings next week.
Who should “Proper” Mike face next?
Offense Over Takedowns
Charles Jourdain vs. Kyler Phillips was great fun.
Phillips wrestled early on very successfully, taking down the high-flying Jourdain with relative ease. Once on the canvas, however, Phillips struggled to do much in the face of Jourdain’s nonstop offense. The Canadian was constantly fishing for his guillotine, threatening kimuras, or trying to stand up. Even when Phillips would pass guard, he was still forced to react to Jourdain’s ground work rather than land his own strikes.
By round two, Phillips was tired, and Jourdain wasn’t so easy to take down anymore. Given some time to work on the feet, Jourdain attacked from all ranges: he landed hard left hands in the pocket, kicked or jumped into knees frequently at range, and he landed beautiful uppercuts and knees from the double-collar tie. Phillips was exhausted and took a bit of a beating, but he stayed aware enough to avoid that pesky guillotine choke.
Credit to Phillips, he dug deep in the third. By committing more to his boxing and counter combinations, he was able to ding Jourdain with a few good punches. Jourdain refused to be denied, however, crashing into Phillips repeatedly and forcing a truly grueling pace. He was able to take back momentum in the final two minutes, pushing his opponent back and landing some damaging shots to sway the judges late.
It was a very fun fight, and Jourdain remains unbeaten at 135 pounds. It’s a little concerning how easily Phillips was able to take him down, but “Air” Jourdain picked up an exciting victory, so I don’t want to criticize too harshly.
Two Minutes Of Chaos
There was a bit of concern that Jai Herbert vs. Mandel Nallo would be a point-fighting contest. Those fears were entirely unfounded, as the two ended up trading knockdowns until one man simply couldn’t stand any longer.
Nallo got to swing the hammer first. He pressed Herbert right off the first bell, rocking him with a high kick. As Herbert tried to recover his footing, Nallo cracked and dropped him with multiple right hands. It looked real dicey for “The Black Country Banger,” who nevertheless managed to move enough to keep the referee away.
Having survived the initial onslaught, Herbert was back on his feet with his legs beneath him. Nallo kept pressing until he walked into a vicious right hand counter. The debuting Canadian went out for a second, woke up, and gamely worked back to his feet. Unlike Herbert, however, he looked very unsteady. Still, he pressed, and Herbert was happy to meet him with more crisp counter punches. A four-piece combo floored him a second time, and there would be no miraculous wake-up this time.
At 37, Herbert will never contend. “The Black Country Banger” remains a tough out, however, and he’s much better than his 4-5 UFC record would indicate.
One Punch, One Kill
The first time Marcio Barbosa decided to throw a punch, Dennis Buzukja was knocked out cold.
The Brazilian is known for his knockout power, but he was patient early. He allowed Buzukja to land some early kicks and was generally content to simply observe his foe and his movements. As soon as Buzukja stepped forward with a real combination, Barbosa was ready to explode. He slipped a shot, fired back two, and punctuated his counter combo with a picture-perfect left hook on the jawline.
Buzukja was completely gone by the time he hit the canvas! That’s a flawless debut from Barbosa, a bit reminiscent of Lerryan Douglas’ recent debut destruction of Julian Erosa. Imagine those two new Featherweight knockout artists swinging at each other …
Return of the Bulldozer
After three years away from the Octagon, Tanner Boser returned as a Heavyweight last night versus the debuting Gokhan Saricam. Given the current lack of depth at Heavyweight, it was a welcome return!
Boser came to scrap, switch-hitting with massive swings. Saricam stood his ground and fired back in combination, resulting in both men stunning the other multiple times. The pace was shockingly high for such big men, and it didn’t fall off much in round two. They continued to trade bombs, and Boser’s calf kicks found the mark as well.
Unfortunately for the returning Canadian, his willpower alone wasn’t enough. Saricam’s fast right hand landed with disturbing consistency, rocking Boser repeatedly. Saricam floored him once towards the end of the first, then twice more in the second even as he seemed to be fatiguing. The Turkish talent has surprising speed in his rear hand, and it just kept landing until Boser fell for good.
Two fun Heavyweight fights in two weeks — are the times a-changing?!?
Additional Thoughts
- Robert Valentin defeats Julien LeBlanc via first-round rear naked choke: The fourth time was the charm for “Robzilla!” After an 0-3 start to his UFC career, Valentin stormed out of the gate here with an early takedown. Almost immediately, he was on the back, grinding his forearm under the jaw. It took about a minute for Valentin to work fully under the chin, but he was consistent in digging through LeBlanc’s defenses until the tap materialized.
- John Yannis defeats Jamie Siraj via first-round knockout (HIGHLIGHTS): Yannis’ sophomore trip to the Octagon was far more successful than his debut. Opposite the Canadian BJJ black belt, Yannis managed range quite well, establishing his boxing without giving Siraj any chances to grab at his legs. Before too long, Yannis cracked Siraj with a right hook and dropped him. Siraj popped back up quickly, but Yannis continued to land power shots consistently. Much to the crowd’s displeasure, Siraj hit the canvas multiple times before the referee saved him.
