UFC Fight Night: Burns v Malott - Ceremonial Weigh-in

Gilbert Burns and Mike MalottChris Unger/Zuffa LLC

UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Malott

Lyle FitzsimmonsApr 18, 2026

Gilbert Burns, come on down.

You're the next contestant on "Can an aging ex-UFC title challenger maintain his position in the rankings against a rising young stud?"

A 39-year-old Brazilian, Burns will have the chance to answer on Saturday at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he'll meet surging Canadian fan favorite Mike Malott in the main event of a 12-bout card.

Burns was finished in three rounds by then-champ Kamaru Usman in a bid for welterweight gold five years ago and is sub-.500 (3-5) in eight fights since, including a three-year slide in which he's lost to Belal Muhammad (UD 3), Jack Della Maddalena (KO 3), Sean Brady (UD 5) and Michael Morales (KO 1).

In fact, he's not won a fight since beating Jorge Masvidal in the latter's retirement fight on the UFC 287 show in Miami in April 2023.

Meanwhile, Malott arrives on a three-fight heater, having handled Trevin Giles (UD 3), Charles Radtke (KO 2) and Kevin Holland (UD 3) since he was stopped in Round 3 by Neil Magny on the UFC 297 undercard in January 2024.

B/R's combat team is in position to deliver a real-time list of the show's definitive winners and losers. Take a look at what we come up with and drop a thought in the app comments.

Loser: Birthday Battering

1 of 3

Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

John Castaneda punches Mark Vologdin

Resilience, particularly for a fighter, is a good thing.

But if the biggest takeaway from watching them is how much punishment they're ability to take without succumbing, it's not necessarily the best news.

That was the case for birthday boy Mark Vologdin on the prelim card, where the newly-minted 25-year-old was battered to the head, beaten to the body and fouled to the groin by catchweight opponent John Castaneda across a compelling 15 minutes.

Vologdin had been awarded his UFC contract after a Contender Series loss during which he rallied from the brink of a finish and left his opponent similarly stricken.

"Every time he gets tagged," said analyst Laura Sanko, "he responds so well."

Two judges leaned for Castaneda two of three rounds against Vologdin and the other gave him all three, but it was only good enough for a majority draw after the Minnesota resident was deducted a point following the second of his two egregious low blows in Round 2.

B/R had Castaneda up, 29-27, too.

Winner: Visiting Villain

2 of 3

Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

John Yannis reacts after a TKO victory against Jamie Siraj

Now that's how you play the vanquishing villain.

Texas-based bantamweight John Yannis got his first UFC win in black-hatted style, dropping Canadian favorite Jamie Siraj with a right hand and later pasting him with elbows until referee Chris Desautels had seen enough after just 2:43 of Round 1.

Yannis immediately strutted away from Siraj's prone body and held an index finger to his lips to symbolically silence the boos coming from an early-arriving crowd.

"Canada, what's up?" he said. "I know I did your boy like that, but I hope I earned somebody's respect."

It was Yannis' first win with the promotion after a tap-out loss to Austin Bashi in his debut last summer that had followed a 9-3 run across 12 fights on the regional circuit.

"When I strike someone I know they're hurt," he said, "so I've just got to stay patient and I'll get my finish."