Top 5: UFC Winnipeg ‘Fight of the Night’ candidates

The
MMA Lab rep will attempt to correct course when he confronts
former TKO
Major League MMA champion Charles
Jourdain in the
UFC Fight Night 273 co-main event this Saturday at the Canada
Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Phillips, 30, enters the arena
gladiatorum on the heels of back-to-back losses for the first time
in his career. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 27 graduate last
fought at UFC 318, where he wound up on the wrong side of a
unanimous decision against Vinicius
Oliveira on July 19. Phillips holds a 6-3 record in the UFC,
his run with the promotion highlighted by wins over Pedro
Munhoz, Raoni
Barcelos and Yadong
Song. Jourdain, meanwhile, steps into the spotlight on the
strength of consecutive victories. The 30-year-old Academie Pro
Star MMA export last saw action on Oct. 18, when he put away
Davey
Grant with a guillotine choke a little more than three minutes
into their UFC Fight Night 262 pairing. Jourdain has compiled an
8-7-1 mark across his 16 appearances inside the Octagon, his resume
anchored by wins over Victor
Henry, Ricardo
Ramos, Kron Gracie
and Doo
Ho Choi.

The Phillips-Jourdain showdown sticks out as one of the prime
candidates for “Fight of the Night” honors at UFC Fight Night 273.
Four more to consider:

Gilbert
Burns vs. Mike
Malott

Burns appears to be walking a tightrope at 170 pounds. The
Kill Cliff Fight Club mainstay sets out in search of his first
victory in more than three years when he takes on Malott in the
welterweight headliner. Burns, who turns 40 in July, staggers into
the five-round clash on a career-worst four-fight losing streak. He
last suited up on May 17, when he yielded to punches from the
unbeaten Michael
Morales in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 256
encounter. On the other side of the equation, Malott has started to
build real momentum in the welterweight division. The 34-year-old
Canadian has rattled off three straight wins against Trevin
Giles, Charles
Radtke and Kevin
Holland. Malott arrived in the UFC via
Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022.

Mandel
Nallo vs. Jai
Herbert

Nallo, if nothing else, has established himself as a scary
proposition for virtually anyone who calls the lightweight midcard
home. The
Tristar Gym product makes his long-awaited promotional debut
opposite Herbert in a three-round showcase at 155 pounds. Nallo,
36, enters the cage riding a wave of five straight wins, all of
them finishes inside one round. The Firas Zahabi protege last
competed on Week 4 of DWCS in September, when he punched out
Samuel
Silva just 3:29 into their confrontation. Nallo has held titles
in the Samourai MMA and Elite 1 MMA organizations. Hebert,
meanwhile, has endured an up-and-down tenure in the UFC thus far.
The former Cage
Warriors champion has not strapped on the gloves since he
dropped a split decision to Chris
Padilla at UFC Fight Night 255 on March 22. Herbert has secured
nine of his 13 career victories by knockout or technical
knockout.

Marcio
Barbosa vs. Dennis
Buzukja

Barbosa looks well prepared to introduce himself to a wider
audience. The 5-foot-6, 145-pound Brazilian draws his first
assignment in the UFC when he toes the line against Buzukja in a
three-round featherweight feature. Still just 27 years old, Barbosa
has strung together four straight wins and nailed down his spot on
the roster with a TKO of Damon
Wilson on the Contender Series in August. It was his 16th
first-round finish to date. Barbosa operates out of the Giants Team
camp in Niteroi, Brazil. On the other side of the ledger, Buzukja
has not yet established a foothold at the sport’s highest level.
The
Syndicate MMA featherweight last appeared at UFC on ESPN 62,
where he lost a split decision to Francis
Marshall on Aug. 24. Buzukja, 28, was a champion in Ring of
Combat and Maverick MMA before he set up shop in the UFC.

Allan
Nascimento vs. Mitch
Raposo

Nascimento has begun to cultivate a reputation as an action hero at
125 pounds. The 34-year-old Brazilian sizes up his latest hurdle
when he meets Raposo in a three-round flyweight prelim. Nascimento
steps onto the battlefield with the wind of a four-fight winning
streak at his back. He continued his ascent within the division at
UFC Fight Night 263, where he rallied to dispatch Cody Durden
with an anaconda choke in the second round of their Nov. 1 affair.
Nascimento trains out of the same Diego Lima-fronted
Chute Boxe affiliate that produced Charles
Oliveira. Raposo, meanwhile, remains something of a mystery
man. He rebounded from back-to-back defeats to Andre Lima
and Su
Mudaerji with a three-round unanimous decision over Azat Maksum
at UFC 321 on Oct. 25. Raposo, 27, sharpens his skills as part of
the
New England Cartel in his native Massachusetts.