Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada later TONIGHT (Sat., Oct. 17, 2026) to stage UFC Edmonton from inside Rogers Place live on Paramount+. Headlining the event will be a Welterweight bout between sensational strikers Joaquin Buckley vs. Mike Malott. In the co-main event, top women’s Flyweight contenders Erin Blanchfield vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius will battle for rankings positioning.

Buckley will attempt to get his first win in two years after suffering back-to-back losses to Kamaru Usman and Sean Brady one year apart. Clearly, Buckley has not been the most active fighter in the division — this will be just his second fight in 2026. “New Mansa,” at one point, was riding high with six straight wins, including defeating Colby Covington, which was seemingly putting him on the cusp for potential title fight consideration. But, then he lost to former division champion, Usman, knocking him down a few pegs. His follow-up defeat to Brady only made matters worse, and now he finds himself ranked No. 8 with two defeats, putting him out of reach of championship fight consideration. That said, he still has time — and the skills — to put together a decent-enough run to get back in the mix, and doing it with a win over someone like Malott, is a good way to get the ball rolling.

Speaking of Malott, he has quietly been putting together a nice run over the last few years, winning four straight to secure an impressive 7-1 record under UFC’s banner. During that run, he earned big wins over Kevin Holland and Gilbert Burns, among others. Now, “Proper” is hoping to lock down the biggest win of his career in his first-ever UFC main event … on home soil. He is currently sitting right outside of the Top 10 in the No. 11 spot, so a win over Buckley will get him in. He has shown he isn’t afraid to throw down wherever the fight goes, scoring six knockouts to go along with six submissions — which is as well-rounded as you can get. He will need to have all of his tools on deck if he wants to defeat Buckley; however, taking it to the ground may be his best bet for victory. That said, “New Mansa” has never been defeated with a submission, with just four of his losses coming by way of knockout. What that tells us is Buckley prefers to stand and bang, which could be a dangerous game to play for Malott.

A women’s Flyweight bout between Katlyn Cerminara vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth was scheduled for the event before Horth had to withdraw with an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer, Mackenzie Stiller. In addition, a Heavyweight bout between UFC rookie, Javad Mahjoub, versus Louie Sutherland was originally scheduled at the event; however, Sutherland pulled out and was replaced by fellow newcomer, Joel Faglier. Furthermore, a Middleweight bout between Julien Leblanc vs. Gilbert Urbina was scheduled to go down on this card before Urbina withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was ultimately replaced by Contender Series graduate, Nick Galanti.

Cristian Perez will finally get his chance to shine under the UFC banner after spending the last seven years proving his worth on the regional circuit, which includes an extended run with Combate Americas. He did come up short in his fight on the Contender Series, but he has bounced back with two knockout wins of his own to earn a shot. He will face off against Kyle Nelson, who was last seen getting knockout by in 26 seconds by Terrance McKinney (see it here).

Mackenzie Stiller made her pro MMA debut just three years ago and now finds herself with a late opportunity to shine in her UFC debut. She is currently 6-1 and with five first-round submissions to her credit. She will be taking on former title challenger Katlyn Chookagian-Cerminara, who comes in with two straight losses.

Joel Faglier and Javad Mouhoub will be making their respectful UFC debuts against one another in a 265-pound matchup of promising contenders. Mouhoub — who hails from Iran — is coming in with a perfect 5-0 record which includes four first-round stoppages, three knockouts and one submission. As for Faglier, he is also undefeated at 6-0 with five finishes, four in the opening frame. This one should not last long.

Nick Galanti will also be making his UFC debut tonight as he battles Julien Leblanc. Galanti comes in with a pro record 8-1 with six stoppage wins, earning his way onto the big show thanks to a 35-second knockout win on the Contender Series. Also, Cody Chovancek is another Contender Series alum who is hoping to start his UFC career on the right foot as he takes on Su Young You, who is coming off submission defeat at the hands of Elija Smith, snapping his six-fight unbeaten streak. As for Chovancek, he is 9-0 with six stoppages.

Louis Jourdain — who earned his way onto the big show via the Contender Series — will come in with a four-fight win streak when he makes his debut against Timothy Cuamba, who is coming off a submission loss at the hands of Bernardo Sopai, brining his record to 2-3 overall.

In Heavyweight action, Tanner Boser and Jhonata Diniz throw down in a fight that may not make it out of the first round. Boser has 12 knockouts on his resume, while Diniz has seven, making them prime candidates to lock down a post-fight bonus award.

In women’s Bantamweight action, Canadian-born Melissa Croden will throw down against American fighter Chelsea Chandler. Croden is 2-1 so far under the UFC banner — 8-3 overall — while Chandler comes in with an even 3-3 record.

Chad Anheliger hasn’t exactly had the best run under the UFC banner racking up a sub-par 1-3 record in his first four fights, including his most recent loss at the hands of Cody Gibson, which actually came two years ago. He is back after a long layoff to face Steven Koslow, who is coming off an even bigger break with his last fight coming in Dec. 2022, a loss at the hands of Cameron Saaiman. Both men need a win in a big way.

Nate Landwehr has seen batter days inside the Octagon. “The Train” is currently on a three-fight losing streak, losing four of his last five fights overall. To make matters worse, all three of his most recent losses have come by way of knockout. If he loses one more — especially if he gets stopped — when he faces Mandel Nallo, then this could very well be the end of the UFC road for him.

In the co-main event, Erin Blanchfield and Jasmine Jasudavicius will throw down to see who improves their position in the Top 5 of the women’s Flyweight division, which recently crowned a new champion in Natalia Silva. Blanchfield is currently ranked No. 3 and is riding a two-fight win streak into this pivotal showdown. In her most recent win she defeated Tracy Cortez via submission (see it here), which was preceded by a decision win over Rose Namajunas. A win for her can get her to a title fight.

Marc-Andre Barriault is desperate need of a win, having lost three straight and five of six overall under the UFC banner. Granted, he has had a very tough schedule but he still needs to get a win when he battles Kyle Daukaus because it will be very hard for the promotion to justify keeping him around with four straight defeats. Daukaus, meanwhile, is hungry for a win since he was stopped by Bo Nickal this past summer at the historic UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.

Enjoy the fights!

125 lbs.: Erin Blanchfield vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
155 lbs.: Kyle Nelson vs. Cristian Perez
185 lbs.: Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Kyle Daukaus
135 lbs.: Louis Jourdain vs. Timmy Cuamba
155 lbs.: Mandel Nallo vs. Nate Landwehr

265 lbs.: Tanner Boser vs. Jhonata Diniz
185 lbs.: Nick Galanti vs. Julien Leblanc
265 lbs.: Javad Mahjoub vs. Joel Faglier
125 lbs.: Katlyn Chookagian-Cerminara vs. Mackenzie Stiller (not Jamey-Lyn Horth)
135 lbs.: Chad Anheliger vs. Steven Koslow
135 lbs.: Melissa Croden vs. Chelsea Chandler
135 lbs.: Soo Young Yoo vs. Cody Chovancek