Canada's Mike Malott knocks out Joaquin Buckley to cap UFC Edmonton

UFC Edmonton went down on Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton and the card ended up offering a violent night of fights with a mixed bag of results from the record 12 Canadian fighters who competed in the event.

Overall, Canada's contingent went 5-7 on the card, including huge wins in the top-two fights.

Mike Malott knocks out Joaquin Buckley in the main event

The headliner of UFC Edmonton featured Malott knocking out Buckley cold in the second round with a brutal knee.

An absolutely incredible win by Malott, who is now a top-10-ranked fighter in the UFC welterweight division after taking out Buckley, who has been a division mainstay for many years.

It’s the kind of win that cements Malott’s place as the biggest MMA superstar in Canada, and one that should absolutely land him someone ranked near the top of the weight class next.

It’s worth noting that the promotion announced that UFC 336 will take place on Jan. 30, 2027, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Malott previously fought on UFC 297 for the promotion's seventh visit to "The Six," and there is a good chance that he will fight during their next trip as well.

Jasmine Jasudavicius pulls off massive upset over Erin Blanchfield

In the co-main event of UFC Edmonton, Jasudavicius of St. Catharines, Ont. defeated Blanchfield in a big upset to potentially earn the next title shot at 125 pounds.

Jasudavicius entered the fight as a notable underdog, but proved the oddsmakers wrong as she secured a unanimous decision win by outgrappling her opponent over three rounds. Not only did Jasudavicius win the fight, but she absolutely dominated the first two rounds with her grappling.

Next up for Jasudavicius could be a rematch against UFC women’s flyweight champion Natalia Silva, who previously defeated the Canadian in 2022. This would be a big fight for Canadian MMA and give the country another chance to get its first female champion in UFC history.

Marc-Andre Barriault claims comeback victory

In a big upset on the main card, middleweight Marc-Andre Barriault of Gatineau, Que. stopped American Kyle Daukaus in the first round with heavy ground-and-pound for a TKO win.

Barriault entered the fight having lost five of his last six bouts, and badly needed to win to save his job in the UFC. He did just that and more when he stopped Daukaus in the first round to get back into the win column and snap a two-fight losing skid inside the octagon.

Look for Barriault to fight at UFC 336 in Toronto, as he typically fights on all Canadian UFC cards.

Mandel Nallo kicks off main card with a bang

In the opening main card bout, Vancouver’s Mandel Nallo knocked out veteran Nate Landwehr in the second round to pick up his first win inside the octagon in his second UFC appearance.

In Nallo’s first UFC fight against Jai Herbert at UFC Winnipeg, he was winning the bout until he got caught and knocked out. Against Landwehr, though, Nallo was winning the entire time, as he beat his opponent up to the head, body, and legs before viciously finishing him in round two.

This was a massive victory for Nallo, who took no damage in the fight, and therefore should have no problem turning around to fight on the UFC 336 card in January.

Katlan Cerminara gets first UFC finish after a decade

Despite being in the UFC since 2016, women’s flyweight fighter Katlyn Cerminara did not have a finish inside the Octagon until this card, when she knocked out Mackenzie Stiller in Round 1.

Cerminara, who had missed two years due to the birth of her child, has a 12-6 overall record inside the cage, holding the second-most wins in women’s flyweight history behind only UFC legend Valentina Shevchenko, showing how consistent she has been for such a long time.

Winning a decision over Stiller was something most predicted Cerminara to do, so the fact she went out there and got a finish was huge and proved that she is still a top fighter at 125 pounds.

Canadians struggle on UFC Edmonton prelims

Six Canadians competed on the UFC Edmonton preliminary card, but it was a struggle for those from north of the border, who finished with a 1-5 record overall.

Cody Chovancek, Mellisa Croden, Chad Anheliger, Javad Mahjoub, and Julien Leblanc all lost their fights before Edmonton’s own Tanner Boser finally put a stop to the bleeding when he brutally beat down Jhonata Diniz to snap the Canadian winless streak.

It wasn’t a great showing by the Canadians on the prelims, but thankfully, things turned around for the Canadian contingent later on the card as they started to rack up some big wins.

Overall, UFC Edmonton has to be looked at as a grand success for the Canadian MMA scene, as Malott and Jasudavicius won on the main card, and it made everyone forget about what happened before that, including the struggles of the Canadians fighting on the prelims.

Next up, UFC 336 takes place in January in Toronto, and fans should expect that Malott, Jasudavicius, and some of the other big winners from this UFC Edmonton card will be featured on the promotion’s next trip north of the border when the UFC comes back to Canada in 2027.