Mike Malott confident heading into first UFC main event vs. Gilbert Burns

You’d have to go all the way back to the middle of 2016 to find the last time a Canadian fighter headlined a UFC event that was located in Canada, but that streak ends this week in Manitoba.

Ontario’s Mike Malott is set for the biggest test of his mixed martial arts career when he faces one-time welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns in a UFC Fight Night headliner Saturday at Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre.

Malott will join Georges St-Pierre (Montreal 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013) and Rory MacDonald (2016 Ottawa, 2014 Halifax) as the only Canadians to headline a UFC card in front of the home crowd.

GSP is the consensus greatest 170-pound fighter in MMA history and MacDonald was a perennial top contender in the UFC who later became a Bellator MMA welterweight champion. Malott competes in the same division as his compatriots and predecessors, but he hasn’t yet reached the upper echelon of the weight class.

“I just keep thinking about how a high school version of me would react to hearing I’m the main event on a UFC card and my name’s going to be on the building,” Malott told Sportsnet’s Martine Gaillard after he began his training camp to prepare for Burns. “It’s super exciting and I’m very grateful for this.”

Malott is no stranger to fighting in Canada at this point. The 34-year-old member of the Niagara Top Team is 6-1 in the UFC since debuting in 2022, with each of his past five outings being in a Canadian city.

He has won three straight overall and went 2-0 in 2025, knocking out Charles Radtke in May and beating Kevin Holland by decision in October. Both Radtke and Holland just picked up one-sided wins within the past week at UFC 327 in Miami but neither have the credentials Burns does.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt previously fought for the belt and holds notable wins over Jorge Masvidal, Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia, former champion Tyron Woodley, plus Neil Magny who’s the only fighter to defeat Malott in the UFC.

Burns has been struggling heading into his match with Malott after four consecutive losses, including when he was stopped by Michael Morales in one round 11 months ago, yet he isn’t lacking in confidence ahead of UFC Winnipeg.

“I love this matchup,” Burns told Aaron Bronsteter of this pairing. “We were looking for a fight right after I lost to Morales and that was the name that they threw at us. He’s a good competitor. Good submissions, good knockouts. I think he’s a high-level guy.”

Burns is only 7-6 since his move from lightweight up to welterweight in 2019 but four of those losses were to UFC champions Khamzat Chimaev, Jack Della Maddalena, Belal Muhammad and to Kamaru Usman in a 2021 championship fight.

Burns, who turns 40 in July, told Sportsnet he saw some flaws in Malott’s loss to Magny but is expecting a tough test. Malott is currently unranked in the division but that will change if he gets past No. 11-ranked Burns.

“I expect the best version of (Burns) we’ve seen so far,” Malott said. “I expect him to have made improvements. I expect him to have some new things to his game, but at the same time I’ve seen a lot of this guy’s footage. My coaches are going to be watching a lot of his footage. I’ve seen him fight a bunch of times, so I know what I’m getting myself into for the most part.

“There is that x-factor that you don’t feel until you’re in there with the guy and really feel it but overall I like what I bring to the table and I’d rather be me going into this one for sure.”

Saturday’s card marks the third time the UFC has held an event in Winnipeg and the first time since 2017 when former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos defeated former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in a five-round main event. The first time the UFC had an event in Winnipeg was for UFC 161 in 2013 when Rashad Evans beat Dan Henderson by three-round split decision in the headline bout.

Both previous Winnipeg events also took place at the same venue, which is home to the NHL’s Jets. Malott’s younger brother, Jeff, is a professional hockey player with the Los Angeles Kings but spent the first four seasons of his pro career with the Jets franchise.

Malott is one of nine Canadian-born fighters set for UFC Winnipeg. Below is the projected bout order (subject to change):

— Gilbert Burns vs. Mike Malott

— Kyler Phillips vs. Charles Jourdain

— Mandel Nallo vs. Jai Herbert

— Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Karine Silva

— Thiago Moises vs. Gauge Young

— Dennis Buzukja vs. Marcio Barbosa

— Julien Leblanc vs. Robert Valentin

— Tanner Boser vs. Gokhan Saricam

— Melissa Croden vs. Darya Zheleznyakova

— Mitch Raposo vs. Allan Nascimento

— JJ Aldrich vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth

— John Castaneda vs. Mark Vologdin

— Jamie Siraj vs. John Yannis