Canada’s Mike Malott will look to break into the welterweight top 10 on home soil when he squares off against explosive American striker Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Edmonton on Saturday night (Sunday morning SA time), writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.
ALSO READ: September’s Top 10 UFC Knockouts.
Jasmine Jasudavicius, Kyle Nelson, Mandel Nallo, Marc-Andre Barriault and Louis Jourdain will also fly the Canadian flag on the main card at Rogers Place.
Jasudavicius battles Erin Blanchfield in a co-headlining clash of elite flyweights; Nelson and Nallo take on Cristian Perez and Nate Landwehr in their respective lightweight bouts; Barriault collides with Kyle Daukaus at middleweight; and Jourdain clashes with Timothy Cuamba at bantamweight.
MAIN CARD:
Sunday, October 17, 2:00 AM SAST
Mike Malott (1.80) vs Joaquin Buckley (2.11) (Middleweight)
Destiny delayed is not destiny denied.
That applies to Malott (14-2-1).
A blue-chipper long tipped for big things, he was earmarked early in his Octagon days as the man to follow in the footsteps of all-time great Georges St-Pierre and bring a UFC championship to Canada.
It’s taken a bit longer than expected, but at 34, “Proper” is putting it all together, smoothly blending technical striking with high-level grappling.
A man on the rise, Malott used his well-rounded approach to topple Trevin Giles, Charles Radtke and Kevin Holland to earn the biggest fight of his career against Gilbert Burns in April.
He rose to the occasion in what was also his maiden UFC main event in Winnipeg, not only stopping the former title challenger in the third round but also prompting “Durinho” to retire.
The career-best performance stretched Malott’s winning streak to four and propelled him into the top 15. Now, Malott – who has seven submissions and five knockouts to his credit – seeks to take another massive leap towards his title dream by cracking the top 10.
Tenth-ranked Buckley’s mission in The Great White North is two-fold: get back on track, and halt Malott’s momentum.
After trading the 185-pound division for the 170-pound ranks, “New Mansa” looked like a man reborn and marched to a six-fight win streak, including stopping former interim champion Colby Covington in December 2024.
However, his hot streak came to an end at the decorated hands of Kamaru Usman in his only fight of 2025, with the former champion and one of the best welterweights of all time shutting Buckley down with his wrestling.
He finally re-emerged in May, only to drop a second frustrating decision in a row to another elite grappler in Sean Brady, dropping his record to 21-8. Lose this one, and the 32-year-old will kiss his place in the top 10 goodbye.
This is a much better stylistic matchup for Buckley than his two previous assignments. A super explosive power puncher with 15 knockouts to his name – including an unbelievable spinning back kick KO of Impa Kasanganay that broke the internet in 2020 – he’s an underdog worth backing to rain on Malott’s parade.
Prediction: Buckley by knockout.
Best Bet: Buckley by KO/TKO/DQ at 3.05.
Alternative Bet: Buckley at 2.11.
Erin Blanchfield (1.30) vs Jasmine Jasudavicius (3.55) (Flyweight)
The co-main event pits No. 4 against No. 6 in the flyweight division.
The higher-ranked Blanchfield (14-2) has suffered just one loss inside the Octagon. After winning six straight fights in the promotion, she dropped a decision to Manon Fiorot in March 2024 but bounced right back, beating former two-time queen Rose Namajunas on points and submitting Tracy Cortez last time out.
A powerful grappler, “Cold Blooded” is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with good takedowns, a heavy top game and slick submissions, along with ever-improving striking. She’s a sure bet against Jasudavicius (15-4) as I don’t see any path to victory for the Canadian. She doesn’t have the power or output on the feet, nor the takedown defence.
Prediction: Blanchfield by decision.
Best Bet: Blanchfield by decision at 1.65.
Alternative Bet: Blanchfield by submission at 6.25.
Kyle Nelson (3.75) vs Cristian Perez (1.28) (Lightweight)
Home favourite Nelson (17-7-1) welcomes Perez (15-2) to the UFC in the featured bout.
Nelson, who’s coming off a first-round knockout loss to Terrance McKinney, would be wise to lean on his 12-fight UFC experience and use the geography of the Octagon.
However, that’s not how he’s programmed. “The Monster” is bloodthirsty, and while he has put down 10 former foes (six by knockout and four by tapout), his willingness to take one to give one will be his undoing.
This should be thrilling for however long it lasts. Bank on Perez, who’s won his last two fights by knockout and has a dozen finishes in all, to get it done sooner rather than later.
Prediction: Perez by knockout.
Best Bet: Perez by KO/TKO/DQ at 2.34.
Marc-Andre Barriault (2.65) vs Kyle Daukaus (1.48) (Middleweight)
Barriault (17-11) has serious power, hence his nickname “Powerbar”, but the 36-year-old is past his prime and has won just one of his past six fights.
Daukaus (17-5) started his second term in the UFC with stoppage wins over Michel Pereira and Gerald Meerschaert, earning him a coveted slot on the historic Freedom 250 card.
He didn’t make it out of the first round on the White House lawn against wrestling phenom Bo Nickal, but he’ll regain his footing at Rogers Place.
Prediction: Daukaus by TKO.
Best Bet: Daukaus by KO/TKO/DQ at 3.60.
Alternative Bet: Daukaus by submission at 3.60.
Louis Jourdain (1.48) vs Timothy Cuamba (2.65) (Bantamweight)
Like Perez, Jourdain (9-3) will make his UFC debut this weekend.
“The Mad Prince”, who defeated Magno Dias by submission on Dana White’s Contender Series last September, will step inside the Octagon riding a four-fight win streak.
After splitting his first four outings on the big stage, Cuamba (10-4) fell to a losing record in the promotion when he was submitted by Bernardo Sopaj in May.
There’s a massive pay-out if Jourdain can do the same and tap out “Twilight”, so I’ll put a little cheese on that.
Prediction: Jourdain by submission.
Best Bet: Jourdain by submission at 9.00.
Alternative Bet: Jourdain by decision at 3.00.
Mandel Nallo (1.37) vs Nate Landwehr (3.15) (Lightweight)
Don’t blink when these two lethal lightweights trade leather in the main card opener.
A great example of never giving up on your dream, former Bellator competitor Nallo (14-4) finally got his big break at the age of 36. Unfortunately for him, disaster struck in his UFC debut as he was knocked out by Jai Herbert. Prior to that, he’d claimed five consecutive first-round stoppage wins.
Landwehr (18-8) is an animal who lives by the code: kill or be killed. At 38 and coming off three knockout losses in a row, the writing is on the wall for the veteran. His woes will continue as “Rat Garbage” gets his long-sought-after UFC moment.
Prediction: Nallo by knockout.
Best Bet: Nallo by KO/TKO/DQ at 1.74.
Note: Odds subject to change.
Quintin van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 20 years of experience.
