Gilbert Burns is coming off four straight losses, two of which ended by knockout, but the promotion believes the former welterweight title challenger still has enough equity in his name to headline the upcoming UFC Winnipeg event on Paramount+, recently made official for Sat., April 18, 2026 at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
His opponent will be unranked local hero Mike Malott.
Malott (13-2-1) is 6-1 since graduating Dana White’s “Contender Series” back in late 2021 and is currently the winner of three straight. That includes his unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland last fall in Vancouver. As for Burns (22-9), he’s looking to bounce back from a brutal knockout loss to welterweight wunderkind Michael Morales at UFC Vegas 106.
Winnipeg hasn’t hosted a UFC fight card since the UFC on FOX 26 event back in late 2017. That’s when former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos outlasted ex-welterweight titleholder “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler in a five-round, non-title main event.
Expect more UFC Winnipeg fight card announcements in the coming weeks, if not days.
