UFC Veteran Abruptly Retires Following Return Fight Announcement for UFC Winnipeg

The Canadian apparently never signed the contract to fight at UFC Winnipeg.

(Zuffa LLC)

It appears that the UFC may have jumped the gun with one of the fights the promotion recently announced for its return to Winnipeg.

Scheduled to take place at Canada Life Centre, the upcoming UFC Fight Night event on April 18 will see the UFC return to Winnipeg for the first time since 2017 and features a headlining welterweight bout between Canada’s Mike Malott and former title challenger Gilbert Burns.

Several other Canadian fighters are also scheduled to compete at UFC Winnipeg, but Marcel Dorff reports that a featherweight matchup between Gavin Tucker and Doo Ho Choi has been scrapped from the card shortly after it was announced.

Gavin Tucker Retires Following UFC Winnipeg Fight Announcement

According to the report from Dorff, Tucker never signed the contract to face Choi at UFC Winnipeg and has elected to retire from fighting.

Diego Lopes (red gloves) shakes hands with Gavin Tucker (blue gloves) after a win by submission during UFC Fight Night at Bridgestone Arena. | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

News of Tucker’s retirement would probably be a bit less surprising if the UFC hadn’t announced the fight with Choi, as the Canadian hasn’t competed since Diego Lopes submitted him in the first round of their UFC Nashville meeting back in 2023.

“Guv’nor” made his Octagon debut in 2017 and brought his undefeated record to 10-0 with a win over Sam Sicilia before he dropped a unanimous decision to Ricky Glenn later that year. Tucker returned in 2019 and submitted Seung Woo Choi to kick off what turned into a three-fight win streak after he also defeated Justin Jaynes and Billy Quarantillo in 2020.

Gavin Tucker (red gloves) defeats Seungwoo Choi (blue gloves) during UFC 240 at Rogers Place. | Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

A 22-second knockout-loss to Dan Ige preceded a lengthy layoff before Tucker’s last outing against Lopes, and the Canadian withdrew from a 2024 booking against Jack Jenkins and 2025 matchup with Jeong Yeong Lee before the recent news of the Choi fight and his subsequent retirement.

Mike Malott Leads Charge For Canadian Fighters At UFC Winnipeg

UFC Winnipeg will be one Canadian lighter without Tucker, but the card does have several other confirmed bouts featuring fighters looking to score big wins in their home country.

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

Malott will obviously take center stage in the night’s main event when he tries to score his fourth win in a row against Burns, and top-ranked women’s flyweight contender Jasmine Jasudavicius will also look to start a new win streak against Karine Silva after Jasudavicius was knocked out by Manon Fiorot in October.

Jasmine Jasudavicius (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Jessica Andrade (not pictured) during UFC 315 at Bell Centre. | Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Melissa Croden is also set to square off with Darya Zheleznyakova in a women’s bantamweight contest, and Robert Valentin will welcome former Samourai MMA titleholder Julien Leblanc to the UFC in a middleweight matchup.

UFC Winnipeg Fight Card

• Main Event: Gilbert Burns vs. Mike Malott

• Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Karine Silva

• John Castañeda vs. Mark Vologdin

• Mitch Raposo vs. Allan Nascimento

• Dong Hun Choi vs. Andre Lima

• Melissa Croden vs. Darya Zheleznyakova

• Robert Valentin vs. Julien Leblanc