UFC returns to Winnipeg this weekend after 9 years with Canadian headliner
Posted April 15, 2026 6:11 pm.
Last Updated April 15, 2026 7:57 pm.
For the first time since 2017, the UFC returns to Winnipeg this weekend. And, this time with a Canadian headliner.
Mike Malott from Waterdown, Ontario will be headlining the fight in the co-main event.
“This is so special to me. This is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was 12 or 13 years old,” said Malott.
A Canadian hasn’t headlined a UFC event in Canada since 2016, but the decade-long drought ends in Manitoba.
Co-headlining with the welterweight Malott is bantamweight Charles Jourdain, a native of Beloeil, Quebec. But Jourdain has his sights set on something bigger.
“Co-main event is very beautiful. I’m very happy. I think Canadian fans are very happy with that. but more importantly for me it’s my shot at top 15,” said Jourdain.
From the moment he stepped off the plane, Winnipeg has made an impression on Jourdain
“More potholes than in Montreal, its insane,” Jourdain said. “I see the city and it’s a very different city than I had in mind.”
There is a total of nine Canadians on this weekend’s card.
Although none are from Winnipeg, Alberta’s Tanner Boser of who is competing in preliminary in the heavyweight categoryis claiming home turf.
“Obviously, in my fight I’m the hometown guy,” Boser said. “A lot of guys are from out east. we’re all one here but I guarantee I’m the guy here in Winnipeg”
By that logic, Malott could make a similar case whose brother Jeff who currently plays for the Los Angeles Kings, started his professional career in Winnipeg.
“This is where my brother made his pro-hockey debut and he spent four years playing out here. For us it’s the fight arena, but for them it’s their barn. He played a lot of games here and Winnipeg hold a special place in his heart,” Malott said.
UFC Winnipeg kicks off Saturday night at 7 p.m.
