‘I can tell that this is a sports town’: UFC Fight Night takes over Canada Life Centre

The Canada Life Centre erupted as Mike Malott rained down a flurry of punches on Gilbert Burns to finish the main event of UFC Fight Night Winnipeg in style.

Moments later, the 34-year-old from Burlington, Ont. — the country’s top MMA star — had tears in his eyes as referee Herb Dean raised his arm, crowning him the winner after nearly three full rounds in the octagon against the Brazilian legend.

Malott, Rory MacDonald and Georges St-Pierre are the only fighters from The Great White North in UFC history to main event a card on Canadian soil.

“I pour so much of myself into the preparation in this sport and it’s been a long journey for me. It feels great to get that release after fighting a tough guy,” said Malott, now 14-2-1 and expected to crack the Top 15 rankings in the welterweight division.

“It’s time to let it all out after a fight and just feel all the feelings. I’ve been so blessed to fight in the UFC in general, but especially in Canada. The fans always show up for me and let me know they enjoy what I do. These moments will be cherished by me for the rest of my life.”

In true Friendly Manitoba fashion, the crowd also paid their respects to an emotional Burns in his post-fight interview by chanting “Gilbert! Gilbert! Gilbert!”

The 39-year-old has fought 25 times in the UFC but has now lost five straight bouts to drop to 22-10-0. He’s expected to retire.

“I think that’s it, but I’m content,” said Burns.

It was the UFC’s first time in Winnipeg since 2017.

Less than two months before the show, the UFC announced Saturday’s event was being pulled from Ottawa and moved to the Manitoba capital. Despite the short notice, the CLC was packed with 14,051 rowdy fans.

“Listen, you were in there tonight. I loved that s—-. I loved the buzz and the energy,” said UFC president and CEO Dana White in a press conference after the main event.

“Canada has always been good to us. The fans are fun. The people are nice, the cities are clean, the hotels are great, the food, everything. I love Canada. I just flew up here for a couple hours, I’m literally going back home now, but I wasn’t gonna miss this fight.”

Will Winnipeg have to wait nearly a decade again for the No. 1 fight promotion to return?

“Probably,” admitted White with a laugh.

Malott — the older brother of former Manitoba Moose/Winnipeg Jets forward Jeff Malott — took home a $100,000 bonus for the Performance of the Night. Brazilian Marcio Barbosa was given the same bonus for capping off the prelims by knocking out American Dennis Buzukja in the first round.

“We got to my locker room tonight and it was the Manitoba Moose room. Jeff (now with the Los Angeles Kings) played one game for the Jets, but most of his four years here was spent with the Moose. I got in there, saw it was the Moose room, and (thought) ‘This is good energy, man,’” said Malott.

“I got to FaceTime with him for a quick second… He was stoked. I thought it was really cool to fight in the same arena that he called home for four years.”

Three out of the four Canadians on the main card were victorious — including Montreal’s Charles Jourdain who picked up the $100,000 Fight of the Night bonus after dismantling American Kyler Phillips in a unanimous decision.

“When I had the Kimura (submission) in Round 3 and I was trying to finish, I felt the octagon was shaking,” said Jourdain, now 18-8-1.

“I was annoying my coach because he was telling me to break the grip… And I should’ve listened to him, but it was impossible to do because of the crowd. The crowd was fantastic.”

Jasmine Jasudavicius, of St. Catharines, Ont., also got the job done via unanimous decision by outgrappling Brazilian Karine Silva.

“It’s honestly amazing to fight in Winnipeg. I can tell that this is a sports town,” said Jasudavicius, who wasn’t on her A-game but did enough to get to 15-4.

“The crowd was nuts, everyone has been so awesome to us. I’m very thankful that they actually moved (the card). I think it’s awesome because I think this is a way better crowd here.”

The only Canuck on the main card to fall short was Montreal’s Mandel Nallo in what was his UFC debut. He came out of the gates firing and was in the driver’s seat before England’s Jai Herbert drilled him in the face with a right hook en route to a first-round stoppage.

“Crazy fight. I’ve never had a fight like that before,” said Herbert, a 37-year-old veteran. “The game plan went out the window… I was waiting for my opportunity, I cracked him, and he went… If he didn’t put me clean out, I was gonna come back and get the win — and that’s what I did.”

Canadian brawlers struggled in the prelims by going 1-4.

Calgary’s Melissa Croden earned the lone early evening victory by outlasting Russia’s Dariya Zhelezniakova by unanimous decision in a bloody, back-and-forth affair.

It was a much different story for Gatineau’s Julien Leblanc, who tapped out to Switzerland’s Robert Valentin two minutes into the opening round.

It was the first career UFC win for Valentin, and he was overcome with emotion when he was declared the winner. His late mother died of a sudden heart attack during his last fight week.

“First time I cried since my mom died was tonight because I kept it inside of me,” said Valentin, who lost his first three UFC fights.

“I’m not gonna let anyone see any weakness in me because this is the hurt business. We try to hurt each other; I’m not gonna show weakness. But this fight was dedicated to my mom because she always knew I’m a fighter, she always knew I’m a warrior and she would have wanted me to follow my dreams.

“I know she’s watching and she’s proud.”

 

JETS AND BOMBERS HANG WITH MALOTT

After the show, members of both the Jets and Blue Bombers took turns congratulating Malott. UFC Canada uploaded the exchange on social media.

“Great job, that was awesome,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry.

“Thanks for letting me use the arena, eh boys,” joked Malott.

“You killed it, bro,” said Bombers running back Brady Oliveira.

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