In terms of quality, UFC Edmonton could easily be considered just another UFC Vegas card. The event featured two relevant matchups between ranked athletes and then a whole bunch of newcomer prospects and middling veterans, same as a regular night at the Meta Apex.
The standout difference? A record 12 Canadians competed in Edmonton … and it didn’t start very well.
The first five Canadians who competed were all finished in mostly one-sided fights. Four of them were submitted in a weak show of grappling, and the exception was knocked out in the lowest-level UFC Heavyweight fight since the last weekend. It was beginning to look like a grim night for Canada until Edmonton’s own Tanner Boser flipped the script with his own display of offensive wrestling.
Nothing against “The Bulldozer,” but we cannot pretend his fight was important in the grand scheme of things. It’s better for the fans in attendance if their athletes are at least occasionally winning, of course, but Canada doesn’t just want random “Prelims” victories. Older action fighters like Mandel Nallo and Marc-Andre Barriault picking up stoppage wins on the main card is great, but it’s no substitute when Georges St. Pierre ruled the Octagon for a decade.
There’s no replacing “GSP,” but some actual contenders would be good, right? As it turns out, UFC Edmonton actually produced the two biggest career wins of its two current best fighters, teammates Jasmine Jasudavicius and Michael Malott.
In the co-main event, Jasudavicius was a significant underdog, widely expected to get out-grappled by Erin Blanchfield. Blanchfield is the most accomplished jiu-jitsu player in the division, as well as a full decade younger. She’s on the rise, whereas Jasudavicius has felt like an overachiever at times.
She continued overachieving last night! Jasudavicius timed her takedowns well then used a combination of physicality and masterful back-taking to cleanly control the more accomplished grappler. It was the biggest upset of the evening, and the win should move Jasudavicius into the Top Five of a wide open women’s Flyweight division.
The late bloomer has now won seven of her last eight and might be Canada’s best hope at gold in 2027.
Malott, meanwhile, has consistently impressed since his UFC signing in 2022. Despite a mix of slick finishes on the feet and canvas, fight fans have been hesitant to rally behind “Proper” Mike. He’s not young at 34 years of age, and the Neil Magny stoppage loss — in which Malott beat Magny up until fatiguing in the closing seconds of the fight — still looms large in the minds of many.
Malott’s main event performance should help everyone move on. He showed great composure and bravery to stand in the face of a vaunted puncher and pursue his own knockout. Buckley is an intimidating man to stand in front of. He lunges forward and throws his hooks at weird angles. That’s disadvantageous in many ways, but his erratic offense can throw off veteran opposition and make them hesitant to engage.
Malott played his opponent well. He took his time with kicks and movement to establish Buckley’s range, broke him down with knees in the clinch, and then kicked him in the face once he was tired. Buckley’s mouthpiece rocketing across the Octagon will forever be a career highlight for Malott, one that helps push him into the Top 10 with considerable momentum.
All of a sudden, Malott — victorious in eight of his nine UFC bouts — could find himself in the cage with a former UFC champion like Belal Muhammad or Jack Della Maddalena next. He’s still a win or two away from a title shot, but he’s officially entered that level of competition and can no longer be denied as a contender.
Hope still lives for another UFC champion from “The Great White North.”