Mike Malott Stuns Joaquin Buckley to Save Nation’s Honor as Canadian Stars Go 5-7 at UFC Edmonton

Mike Malott sends Canadian fans home with a stunning victory after flatlining Joaquin Buckley with a knee strike at UFC Edmonton.

Mike Malott Stuns Joaquin Buckley to Save Nation’s Honor as Canadian Stars Go 5-7 at UFC Edmonton

Mike Malott knocked out Joaquin Buckley at UFC Edmonton (Image via UFC X Account)

UFC Edmonton may not have gone how the home crowd would have imagined. After all, their national stars went 5-7. However, the ending was good for them as welterweight contender Mike Malott knocked out Joaquin Buckley in the second round with a devastating knee strike.

The first round saw both men take cautious approach while trying to land some significant strikes. Buckley seemed to momentarily stun Malott towards the end of the first round. All the momentum appeared to be on his side heading into the second round.

Buckley is known for explosiveness and blitzes. As such, the Canadian contender took a cautious approach in the first. In the second round, Malott caught ‘New Mansa’ with a stunning knee strike that knocked Buckely down.

Buckley’s mouth piece also flew off with that knee strike. Soon, he landed one more strike to force a referee stoppage from Marc Goddard. With the win, Malott has a five-fight winning streak in the UFC welterweight division.

Malott has come a long way after his embarrassing loss to Neil Magny in front of home crowd at UFC 297 back in 2024. The Canadian star went viral for an Instagram post at that time where he stated that he held tears back due to the loss.

With wins over Trevin Giles, Charles Radtke, Kevin Holland, Gilbert Burns and Buckley, the Canadian star is ready for a top 10 opposition. Meanwhile, Joaquin Buckley is on a three-fight losing streak. He will need to go back to the drawing board and assess what to do next.

Canadian stars had a mixed night at UFC Edmonton, and Malott’s win remains the silver lining of the evening.

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Canada had a losing run at UFC Edmonton despite Mike Malott finishing Joaquin Buckley

Despite how the night ended, the fight card got off to a rough start for the Canadian fans and fighters. Bantamweight fighter You Su-young submitted Canadian fighter, Cody Chovancek, with a Kimura submission in the first fight of the evening.

Soon after, Chelsea Chandler used the same submission to defeat another Canadian, Melissa Croden, in the first round. Steven Koslow got a rear-naked choke submission to defeat Chad Anheliger in the third round. After the first three fights, Canadian fighters had 0-3 record.

Mike Malott with fellow Canadians who fought on the UFC Edmonton card
Mike Malott with fellow Canadians who fought on the UFC Edmonton card (Image via UFC X Account)

Canadian heavyweight star, Javad Mahjoub, lost to Joel Faglier in the second round via TKO. Mahjoub had hurt Faglier in the first round, but couldn’t capitalize on that.

In the next fight, middleweight star Nick Galanti submitted Canadian star, Julien Leblanc, with a face crank submission. Team Canada was 0-5 after that fight.

Veteran heavyweight Tanner Boser defeated Jhonata Diniz via TKO to give Team Canada their first win of the fight. After the prelims ended, Team Canada was 1-5.

The main card brought better for the home crowd as their countrymen went 4-2 to close out the night. Rising star Mandel Nallo defeated fan-favorite Nate Landwehr in the second round to start off the main card.

Timothy Cuamba defeated Canadian star Louis Jourdain soon after in the bantamweight division. Middleweight veteran, Marc-André Barriault, survived early onslaught from Kyle Daukus to secure another win for Team Canada.

However, veteran Kyle Nelson was on the wrong end of a brutal knockout loss as Cristian Perez flatlined him in just 27 seconds. After this bout, Team Canada was 3-7 and needed the co-main event and main event attractions to secure victories to close off a disappointing night.

Betting underdog Jasmine Jasudavicius surprised everyone when she outgrappled Erin Blanchfield to get a decision victory. Soon after her upset win, she called for a title shot as she previously lost to current champion Natalia Silva. Then, Mike Malott proceeded to finish Buckley to close off the night.

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