Canadian on Canadian violence will go down on February 25, at a UFC Fight Night event expected for the Apex in Las Vegas.
The welterweight match-up will see Mike Malott (8-1-1) face Yohan Lainesse (9-1), making it an Ontario vs. Quebec showdown.
UFC officials announced the pairing on Thursday, while confirming the previously reported women’s flyweight match-up between Jasmine Jasudavicius and Cortney Casey.
Mark your calendars! 📆 We’ve got three Canadians officially in action on February 25th!
🇨🇦@Michael_Malott vs 🇨🇦@LainesseYohan
🇺🇸@CastIron_Casey vs 🇨🇦@JasJasudavicius pic.twitter.com/JzHEsJescW— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) January 5, 2023
Both Malott and Lainesse won their way into the UFC on the 2021 season of Dana White’s Contender Series. Both then made their debuts last year, with Malott going 1-0, and Lainesse going 1-1 to start their respective UFC runs.
Malott, in his only fight of 2022, defeated Mickey Gall at UFC 273, stopping the New Jersey-based fighter with strikes inside of a round. Malott’s only loss as a pro came under the World Series of Fighting banner, against current UFC featherweight Hakeem Dawodu.
Lainesse dropped his debut against Gabe Green last April, but bounced back nicely with a split decision win opposite Darian Weeks at UFC 279 in September.
The UFC’s February 25, 2023 Fight Night event is expected to be headlined by ranked light heavyweights Nikita Krylov and Ryan Spann. The following match-ups have been reported for the card thus far:
- Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann
- Victor Martinez vs. Jordan Leavitt
- Hailey Cowan vs. Ailin Perez
- Ode’ Osbourne vs. Denys Bondar
- Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Cortney Casey
- Erick Gonzalez vs. Darrius Flowers
- Andre Fili vs. Lucas Almeida
- André Muniz vs. Brendan Allen
- Augusto Sakai vs. Don’Tale Mayes
- Mike Malott vs. Yohan Lainesse
