While it wasn’t best of nights for Canadian fighters last Saturday at UFC Winnipeg, they did end on a high note with wins from Charles Jourdain followed by Mike Malott retiring Gilbert Burns in the main event.
Overall, Canadian fighters went 4-5 on the night, with Jasmine Jasudavicius and Melissa Croden also getting wins. Marcio Barbosa and Gokhan Saricam also scored impressive knockout wins in their promotional debuts. With UFC Winnipeg now in the books, let’s look at what’s next for our winners.
Mike Malott
While it was true that Gilbert Burns came into this fight having lost four consecutive bouts, those losses came against Belal Muhammad, Jack Della Maddalena, Sean Brady and Michael Morales. No shame losing to these guys as all four of these names are either former champions or top 5 contenders. Time will tell if Mike Malott is of that ilk, but for now, we can add him to the list of names to have defeated Durinho. There are a lot of interesting matchups for Malott at welterweight, but in my opinion, the winner of the upcoming Sean Brady vs Joaquin Buckley fight is the best option on the table for the Canadian.
Malott’s next fight: Brady/Buckley winner
Charles Jourdain
It wasn’t easy, but Charles Jourdain came out in the right side of his Fight of the Night with Kyler Phillips, earning a third consecutive victory. Jourdain has always been a fan favourite because of his personality and action-oriented fight style, but he really seems to be coming into his own at 30 years old. Undefeated since coming down to 135lbs, he should keep steadily climbing up the bantamweight ladder. For that reason, fighting the winner of Saturday’s Montel Jackson vs Raoni Barcelos bout would make a ton of sense.
Jourdain’s next fight: Jackson/Barcelos winner
Jai Herbert
Jai Herbert proved once again that if you do not mind your Ps and Qs, he is going to get you. “Rat Garbage” is a fan favourite, but he wasn’t careful enough and the Englishman caught him. Herbert will always be a good measuring stick to throw against anyone at lightweight. I think he’d be a good test for Gauge Young, who was also victorious on Saturday.
Herbert’s next fight: Gauge Young
Jasmine Jasudavicius
Jasmine Jasudavicius successfully bounced back from her bad loss to Manon Fiorot, not letting the knockout turn into a losing streak. She outworked a limited, but tough Karine Silva en route to a unanimous decision victory. From Alexa Grasso and Erin Blanchfield to Rose Namajunas, Casey O’Neill and Wang Cong, there isn’t a shortage of names to throw at Jasmine, I just happen to prefer other matchups that don’t involve her. Once Maycee Barber is cleared to get back inside the octagon, I believe a fight between those makes the most sense.
Jasudavicius’ next fight: Maycee Barber
Gauge Young
Thiago Moises has always been a tricky fighter for anyone at 155lbs, so for Gauge Young to manage to beat him at just 25 is a promising sign. Despite getting his hand raised, Young also showed that he’s still green in some aspects of his game. I would look to give an opponent of similar calibre before having him climb up the ranks. I’d like to see him try to solve someone like Jai Herbert, who poses some fairly unique problems at lightweight with his length and off beat striking style.
Young’s next fight: Jai Herbert
