UFC Fight Night 273 takes place tomorrow night in Winnipeg, Canada and we’ve got our predictions for all the fights below.

Main Card

Gilbert Burns vs. Mike Malott

Gilbert Burns heads into Saturday’s main event on a four‑fight losing slide, while Mike Malott has strung together three wins in a row.

Closing in on his 40th birthday, it’s inevitable that time is starting to catch up to Burns, who has continued competing against some of the 170lb divisions top talents, but these days is finding it harder to emerge victorious and has been T(KO)’d in two of his last three bouts. However, while his durability and speed may be declining, he’s certainly not at the stage where he’s just a pushover. He remains a vastly experienced fighter with a well-rounded skill-set and can still pressure fighters on the feet with his striking despite always having been undersized for the weight-class, while he also has respectable wrestling and skilled grappling too.

Mike Malott has put together a 6–1 UFC run since 2022 and is coming off a win over Kevin Holland, but still remains unranked in the division. A former Team Alpha Male striking coach, the 34-year-old is a composed fighter and has a solid all-round skill-set that meshes his steady striking and respectable power with capable wrestling, and a grappling game that’s provided five of his 11 finishes from 13 total career victories. He’s only fought to a decision twice though (winning both), and this will be his first five round fight.

Malott is a solid fighter, though I don’t think he’s quite at the level of some of Burns other recent opponents, and he did suffer ihs only UFC loss against another veteran Neil Magny a couple of years ago. So Burns has a chance here, but overall I do think he’s now at that stage in his career where he’s fading and Malott will be able to take advantage of that to claim a win on the scorecards.

Pick: Mike Malott wins by decision.

Kyler Phillips vs. Charles Jourdain

Kyler Phillips comes in off back-to-back defeats for this co-main event against Charles Jourdain, who is on a run of back‑to‑back submission wins.

Phillips is a natural athlete and uses his speed and footwork to bolster his varied, high‑volume striking. He has quick takedown entries too and capable grappling, though without much end product in terms of submissions. A real problem for the 30-year-old is consistency, and despite his physical tools, he often looks like he’s leaning on his athleticism while still trying to fully put the technical pieces together to reach his potential.

The 30-year-old Jourdain has momentum here, but his overall UFC record only stands at 8‑7‑1. Jourdain likes to keep a high tempo with his clean combination boxing, mixed in with some kicks and knees. He also likes to go for opportunistic guillotine choke submissions, and has now made that work for him in his last three UFC victories. He is hittable on the feet though, but is usually durable, with only Jean Silva having stopped him via strikes so far. More worrying however is his 2‑6 record in fights that go the distance.

There’s up-side to both fighters here, and it is tempting to pick Jourdain given he has the home advantage and the sharper finishing weapons. However, it still feels like Phillips has more untapped potential, has registered bigger wins than Jourdain in the Octagon and has yet to be stopped inside the distance. As such I’ll take him to take this fight to the judges to edge out a decision win.

Pick: Kyler Phillips wins by decision

Mandel Nallo vs. Jai Herbert

Mandel Nallo makes his UFC debut after a Contender Series KO win, and will be taking on Jai Herbert, who has dropped two of his last three fights.

Though he’s new to the UFC, the 36-year-old Nallo is a veteran who had a 4‑3 (+1 NC) Bellator run and has racked up five regional wins since. He’s a tall and rangy for a lightweight at 6’0″ with a 75″ reach, though Herbert actually edges him by an inch in both height and reach here. Nallo works long punches and kicks from distance, and while he’s not a strong wrestler, he’s dangerous if he gets to the mat as he’s good at taking the back and working for the rear-naked choke. Meanwhile, He’s never gone the distance in his 14‑3 career, with most of his wins coming in the first round.

The 37-year-old Herbert is also unusually tall and long for the division. His size and power even caused problems for Ilia Topuria at 155lbs a few years ago, dropping him early in the fight before being stopped in round two. Like Nallo, he’s a kickboxer at heart, with a lean towards his boxing, and he has a good finishing rate, with nine stoppage wins by way of strikes from his 13 victories. He’ll mix in the odd takedown too, but he’s not much of a submission threat on the mat.

Given their similar frames and styles, this could turn into a closely fought fight from range that could go the distance, which I think will favor Herbert, as Nallo has lost three of his five fights that went beyond the first round.

Pick: Jai Herbert wins by decision.

Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Karine Silva

Jasmine Jasudavicius returns after being stopped by Manon Fiorot in just 74 seconds last time out, ending a five‑fight unbeaten run. She now faces Karine Silva, who has only won one of her last three fights.

The 37-year-old Jasudavicius had been in strong run of form before the Fiorot loss, with wins over the likes of Jessica Andrade, Mayra Bueno Silva, and Ariana da Silva. However, striking’s not Jasudavicius’ strongest suit and so Fiorot was able to boss the stand-up battle with her stronger physique and raw power to earn a quick win. Still, Jasudavicius remains a problem for most fighters with her grinding style that mixes wrestling, clinch-work, and grappling over three rounds, while in the past few years she’s flexed her submission ability with three finishes in the Octagon that coincided with her earning her black belt in BJJ.

Silva entered the UFC in 2022 with a reputation as a dangerous finisher thanks to her speedy kickboxing, competent wrestling and and black belt in BJJ, and confirmed that with three straight submission victories to start her time in the Octagon. However, since that hot start the 32-year-old has only gone 2‑2, with all four fights going the distance as she continues to go up against tougher opposition than in the past.

After being caught out on the feet last time out I can see Jasudavicius leaning even more on her grinding clinch-work and grappling game here, and I think she has enough of an advantage in those departments to emerge with a decision victory.

Pick: Jasmine Jasudavious wins by decision.

Thiago Moisés vs. Gauge Young

Thiago Moises has fallen into a pattern of alternating wins and losses in recent years and now meets Gauge Young, who is 1–1 in the UFC so far.

Moises is a skilled grappler with good control and proven submission ability, while his striking is serviceable rather than spectacular, and his takedowns aren’t the strongest. The 31-year-old’s UFC run has been inconsistent over nearly eight years as he picked up solid wins early on against Bobby Green, Alexander Hernandez, Michael Johnson, and Kurt Holobaugh, but has had less in the way of notable victories since. Meanwhile, all four of his career losses, including a KO in his last outing, have come in the past five years, which starts to raise an additional concern about his durability.

The 25-year-old Young has had mixed results too. He lost on the Contender Series in 2024 to Quillan Salkilld, then rebounded with a regional win, but lost his UFC debut after being handed a short-notice call-up. He’s picked up a win since though and will be hoping that he can not settle fully into life in the UFC. Young is a durable pressure striker with solid-enough technique and decent power, and will also look to use his wrestling too.

Moises could swing the fight in his favor if he can get the fight to the mat, but with Young having better wrestling to keep the action upright I think he’ll gain the upper-hand on the feet to emerge with a decision win.

Pick: Gauge Young wins by decision.

Dennis Buzukja vs. Márcio Barbosa

Dennis Buzukja has only mustered one win in four attempts so far in the UFC and now squares up to Marcio Barbosa, who debuts with a 17-2 career record after earning a contract via the Contender Series.

The 28-year-old Buzukja may be four-fights into his time in the UFC, but he’s yet to prove that he actually belongs at this level. This has become a running theme for him as even prior to that on the Contender Series he lost his first fight, and wasn’t immediately picked up after winning his second, having to wait another year before finally being given a short-notice opportunity. Buzukja is a striker who will try to bring the fight to his opponent and turn it into a scrap, leaning on his cardio and pressure to make up for his lack of speed and technical polish. He tends to load up on his punches rather than naturally having heavy hands though, which exposes more gaps in his striking defense.

The 27-year-old Barboza already has a decade of experience on the regional scene under his belt, where he’s built a reputation as a dangerous striker. So far 14 of his 17 wins have come by knockout, with two more coming by submission. He like to put together boxing combinations and mixes in kicks well, but while he clearly has finishing power, he still has to prove he can deliver that against UFC‑level opposition.

Barbosa is the better fighter and with his power and Buzukja’s questionable defense I think that’ll lead him to a debut win by TKO in the opening round.

Prediction: Marcio Barbosa wins by TKO in Rd1.

Prelims(Predicted winners in bold)

Julien Leblanc vs. Robert Valentin
Tanner Boser vs.Gökhan Saricam
Melissa Croden vs. Darya Zheleznyakova
Mitch Raposo vs.Allan Nascimento
JJ Aldrich vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
John Castañeda vs. Mark Vologdin
Jamie Siraj vs. John Yannis