Two New UFC Contenders Break Through in Latest UFC Rankings Update

Will either of these fighters be able to work towards a welterweight title shot?

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The UFC welterweight rankings officially feature two new names following the promotion’s return to Winnipeg last weekend.

Featuring a total of nine Canadian fighters and 12 fights, UFC Winnipeg was headlined by a welterweight clash between Canada’s Mike Malott and former title challenger Gilbert Burns, who came into the night looking to snap a four-fight skid that included two losses via knockout.

Burns ended up falling to strikes in the third round and announced his retirement in the cage immediately following the loss, while Malott earned the biggest victory of his career and extended his winning run to four fights.

Mike Malott Breaks Into UFC Rankings After Stopping Gilbert Burns

After previously being unranked heading into UFC Winnipeg, Malott vaulted into the welterweight Top 15 with his stoppage-win and now sits as the division’s #11 contender.

Mike Malott (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Gilbert Burns (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Canada Life Centre. | Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images

“Proper” made his professional MMA debut in 2011 and went 4-0 before he was stopped by Hakeem Dawodu at World Series of Fighting 14 in 2014. That was followed by a majority decision against Thomas Diagne in his lone Bellator appearance, but he rebounded with a pair of first-round finishes before earning a UFC contract with a 39-second submission of the formerly-unbeaten Shimon Smotritsky on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021.

Kevin Holland (red gloves) fights Mike Malott (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Rogers Arena. | Simon Fearn-Imagn Images

Malott’s UFC career got off to a hot start with another three finishes before longtime welterweight veteran Neil Magny pulled off an impressive comeback and stopped him with strikes late in their meeting at UFC 297. Prior to defeating Burns, the Canadian’s current four-fight win streak saw him take decisions over Trevin Giles and Kevin Holland and secure a second-round knockout against Charles Radtke.

Yaroslav Amosov Debuts In Rankings, Karine Silva Falls After UFC Winnipeg Loss

Although he wasn’t in action at UFC Winnipeg, former Bellator titleholder Yaroslav Amosov has also debuted in the UFC welterweight rankings at #15.

Yaroslav Amosov submitted Neil Magny in his UFC debut. | (Zuffa LLC)

Amosov suffered an upset-loss to Jason Jackson in his final Bellator outing in 2023 before he submitted UFC veteran Curtis Millender at CFFC 140, which marked his first fight in well over a year. Matched with the aforementioned Magny for his UFC debut last December, the Ukrainian ended things via anaconda choke just over three minutes into the fight.

Jasmine Jasudavicius (red gloves) celebrates after the fight agasint Karine Silva (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Canada Life Centre. | Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images

The only other ranked fighters in action at UFC Winnipeg were women’s flyweight contenders Jasmine Jasudavicius and Karine Silva. Jasudavicius earned a unanimous decision to rebound from her knockout-loss to Manon Fiorot and stays put at #7 in the divisional rankings, while Silva swapped spots with Miranda Maverick and fell one place to #10 at women’s flyweight.