There is a different kind of pressure attached to this fight than Malott’s Toronto homecoming at UFC 297, where he was up 2-0 on Neil Magny before faltering and getting finished. He’s a better fighter than he was then, without question, but Burns is more accomplished and dangerous than Magny, so this is even higher stakes. Writing the Brazilian off heading into this one based on his recent results and age would be a mistake and a win would still be a massive triumph for the headlining Ontario boy. The co-main event is a compelling bantamweight clash between divisional fixture Kyler Phillips and surging French-Canadian Charles Jourdain. Consecutive losses to Rob Font and Vinicius Oliveira have caused Phillips to slip from the rankings in the ultra-competitive 135-pound weight class, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that he’s a well-rounded and dangerous fighter who counts wins over Song Yadong, Raoni Barcelos, and Pedro Munhoz amongst his UFC wins. He trains with a great group at the MMA Lab, has to be feeling a little pressure to get on the right side of things again, especially with an assignment like this, and will likely come out of the gates sharp and firing on Saturday night.

Jourdain has been brilliant in a pair of bantamweight starts, becoming the first person to submit Victor Henry in his debut in Edmonton and then following it up with a first-round submission win over Davey Grant last year in Vancouver. The tattooed Quebecor looks like he’s found the right place to put together a run, but breaking into the rankings at bantamweight is a daunting task. This is a perfect bit of matchmaking as Phillips can instantly rehab his standing by stopping Jourdain’s climb, while “Air” can keep ascending if he’s able to style on the former Top 15 mainstay. Expect all-out action for as long as this one lasts; bonuses are in play here for sure. Canadian newcomer Mandel Nallo gets a chance to make an instant impression in the lightweight division as he faces off with British veteran Jai Herbert in the featured bout of Saturday’s main card.

Herbert is one of those guys that never quite got his feet under him in the UFC because he arrived as a Cage Warriors champ and burgeoning star in England, was hustled into daunting assignments straight away, and has been playing catch-up ever since. He went 1-3 out of the gates with losses to Francisco Trinaldo, Renato Moicano, and Ilia Topuria, but has been sharp and competitive over is last five outings, scoring a pair of wins, two narrow defeats on the cards, and a draw with Ludovit Klein in a fight many feel he deserved to win. In terms of their rankings, this is the most consequential fight on the card as Top 10 flyweights Jasmine Jasudavicius and Karine Silva share the Octagon as they kick off their respective 2026 campaigns. Jasudavicius, who enters at No. 7, had her five-fight winning streak halted last time out in Vancouver, running afoul of former title challenger Manon Fiorot. She’s shown a tremendous ability to bounce back from defeats thus far in her UFC career and has improved dramatically over the course of her time on the roster, so another reset and rebound here after a longer than normal break seems reasonable to expect.