Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight standouts Mike Malott vs. Joaquin Buckley will clash tonight (Sat., Oct. 17, 2026) inside Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for UFC Edmonton.
Malott is doing his damnedest to carry the flag for Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA). Since joining UFC’s roster in 2022, Malott has won seven of eight bouts, climbing into the Top 15. He’s currently won four in a row, earning this step up in competition against Buckley, who’s admittedly in the midst of a skid. Buckley enjoyed a career renaissance upon first moving down to Welterweight, ripping off six-straight victories that included several violent knockouts. Unfortunately, his last two bouts have exposed a real weakness on the canvas, and it’s up to “New Mansa” to fill those gaps if he’s to ever become a true title threat.
Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:
Malott vs. Buckley Betting Odds
- Mike Malott victory: -125
- Mike Malott via TKO/KO/DQ: +380
- Mike Malott via submission: +550
- Mike Malott via decision: +260
- Joaquin Buckley victory: -102
- Joaquin Buckley via TKO/KO/DQ: +230
- Joaquin Buckley via submission: +1800
- Joaquin Buckley via decision: +500
- Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
How Malott Wins
Malott’s great strength is his well-rounded skill set. He’s a kickboxer first and foremost, capable of blasting power kicks and using those impacts to set up smart shifting combinations. Then, he’s also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and thus far, he’s managed to wrestle quite effectively from the upper body clinch.
Twelve of his 14 victories come via stoppage.
In this bout, the goal is to avoid the boxing range with the shorter, more powerful puncher. Malott can crack, too, but why make Buckley’s life easier? His opponent struggles greatly when forced to close the distance, as he’s prone to sprinting forward on a straight line. Malott — who generally manages range well — should be looking to blast kicks into his foe then sidestep the return flurries.
The Sean Brady fight just demonstrated that Buckley struggles to attack without giving up easy takedown entries. If Malott is hammering him with kicks and remaining a difficult target on the feet, he should be able to time takedowns well when Buckley closes distance too wildly.
Then, those top-tier submission skills can come into play.
How Buckley Wins
Buckley is a physical force with interesting offensive ideas. On occasion, Buckley will side step before bursting forward at an angle or using shifting body-head combinations in an intelligent fashion. Other times, he’ll lunge forward with a weird rear hand uppercut on an opponent a foot taller than him — there’s a reason his career accuracy percentage is so mediocre.
Even so, 15 knockout wins is nothing to scoff at.
Buckley could be a much more effective fighter if he closed distance before throwing punches. He relies too much on blitzing rather than consistent pressure. A small focus on footwork and cage-cutting could mean that at least one strike of Buckley’s three-punch combination lands, rather than an outright whiff. It would also make him more difficult to take down!
Against a taller opponent likely hunting for the takedown, Buckley has to keep his base low, and the best way to do so is hit the body. Furthermore, Malott’s sole UFC defeat came because of fatigue versus Neil Magny, and this is a five-round fight. If Buckley is consistently pressuring, hitting the body, and making Malott work hard to wrestle, he’s likely to find the chin at some point.
Malott vs. Buckley Prediction
For all his offensive bluster, Buckley is an deeply flawed fighter, and it would be unreasonable to expect significant change more than a decade into his career. This is his 30th professional fight! What you have seen is very likely what you are going to get.
Can Malott take advantage? Between his powerful kicks, slick wrestling and grappling prowess, he should have the tools to frustrate and ground Buckley. There’s still a chance that Buckley manages to outlast him via raw athletic prowess, but I have a feeling Malott finds the neck before that concern becomes a reality.