The UFC Octagon heads back to Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for the fourth time ever, when UFC Edmonton: Buckley vs. Malott goes down this Saturday on Sportsnet.
The event features 13 fights in total, including 12 Canadians, which will set the record for the most Canadian fighters ever to appear on a card in UFC history.
With UFC Edmonton going down this weekend, it’s time to look at the top storylines on the card.
Mike Malott looks to enter UFC welterweight top-10 rankings
The main event of UFC Edmonton features Mike Malott against Joaquin Buckley in a five-round welterweight fight between two of the top-15 ranked fighters in the weight class.
Malott, a native of Burlington, Ont. first joined the UFC in 2022, and since then, he has racked up an impressive 7-1 record inside the Octagon with five stoppage wins.
In his last fight, Malott knocked out Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC Winnipeg in April.
He is currently riding a four-fight win streak and is the No. 11-ranked welterweight fighter in the Meta UFC Rankings. A win over Buckley and Malott will enter the division’s top 10.
Buckley, meanwhile, is a knockout artist who has been a staple of the welterweight division’s top-10 rankings for several years now, as he’s currently ranked at No. 8 in the weight class.
First joining the UFC in 2020, Buckley has racked up an 11-6 record inside the Octagon, with eight of those wins coming by way of knockout.
With Malott and Buckley both being finishers, Canadian MMA fans should expect nothing less than an amazing main event at UFC Edmonton, and one that likely ends with a violent finish.
Jasmine Jasudavicius vying for UFC Women’s flyweight title shot
The co-main event of UFC Edmonton is an important fight in the women’s flyweight division between two of the top fighters in the weight class, Erin Blanchfield and Jasmine Jasudavicius.
A native of St. Catharines, Ont., Jasudavicius is the No. 6-ranked women’s flyweight in the Meta UFC Rankings. She is coming off a big win over Karine Silva at UFC Winnipeg that saw her get back into the win column after suffering a knockout loss to Manon Fiorot in her fight before that. Overall, Jasudavicius has a 9-3 record since joining the UFC in 2022.
Blanchfield, meanwhile, is ranked at No. 3 in the weight class and is 8-1 in the UFC. She is riding a two-fight win streak at the moment and is hoping that a big win here over Jasudavicius on Canadian soil can be exactly what she needs to springboard her to a title shot at 125 lbs.
Given how much importance this fight has in the UFC women’s flyweight division, look for both women to fight to the best of their abilities and try to cement themselves as the No. 1 contender.
Marc-Andre Barriault looking to win another bonus
In a middleweight bout on the main card, Gatineau, Que. native Marc-Andre Barriault looks to win a bonus for the fourth straight fight when he takes on Kyle Daukaus in a guaranteed banger.
Barriault has lost two straight fights and five of his last six bouts overall, but he’s always must-watch television as he’s always in exciting fights, win, lose, or draw.
Going up against Daukaus, who is coming off a KO loss to Bo Nickal at the UFC White House card in June, this should be a middleweight slugfest for as long as it lasts between two veteran fighters who always go out there swinging bombs and trying to knock their opponents out.
Melissa Croden attempts to move up UFC women’s bantamweight ladder
Deep on the preliminary card, Calgary, Alberta’s Melissa Croden takes on Chelsea Chandler in a women’s bantamweight bout between two of the top-15-ranked fighters in the weight class.
Croden is 2-1 overall in the UFC and is coming off a decision win over Daria Zhelezniakova that saw her enter the top 10 in her weight class, as Croden is currently ranked at No. 9 overall.
As for Chandler, she is just clinging to the rankings at No. 15 in the weight class, but she has a 3-3 overall record in the promotion while fighting some of the toughest women in the division.
This is a huge opportunity for Croden to not only get a win over another ranked opponent, but to potentially get another finish with her patented heavy ground-and-pound skills on the mat.
Three canadian MMA prospects make their UFC debuts
Also on the UFC Edmonton card, we have three MMA prospects making their UFC debuts.
On the main card, Louis Jourdain of Beloeil, Que. – the younger brother of UFC star Charles Jourdain – takes on Timmy Cuamba in a bantamweight bout.
Jourdain won a UFC contract after winning on Dana White’s Contender Series last year, but he has not been able to make his promotional debut until now due to injuries.
Thankfully, he’s finally healthy and ready to compete again, and he has a winnable fight here against Cuamba, who has just a 2-3 record inside the Octagon.
Then, in the prelims, two other Canadians will debut in the UFC.
First, we have heavyweight Javad Mahjoub, who will battle fellow UFC debutant Joel Faglier.
Mahjoub was born in Iran but came to Canada in 2017. He currently trains at Tristar Gym in Montreal under the tutelage of famed MMA coach Firas Zahabi and UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre.
Then, we have bantamweight prospect Cody Chovancek of St. Catharines, Ont., who faces SuYoung Yoo in the first fight of the night.
Chovancek is making his UFC debut here after being signed on last season’s Dana White Contender Series, while Yoo is 3-1 in the UFC and looking to bounce back after a stoppage loss in his last fight.
Overall, this is a fantastic card featuring many of the best Canadian MMA fighters in the world, so don’t forget to tune in on Saturday night on Sportsnet for all the action.
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