UFC Edmonton Unleashes Awesome Main Card to Alberta!

UFC Edmonton fight week rolls on. Saturday night, for the first time in almost two years, the UFC heads to the Canadian province of Alberta. With the UFC setting foot in Canada, there will be a steady diet of Canadian fighters due to compete this weekend,

Out of the 13 fights comprising UFC Edmonton, 12 will feature at least one fighter appearing in the Octagon. Live coverage of UFC Edmonton begins with the prelims at 5 pm ET/ 2 pm PT on Paramount Plus.

Main card action takes place at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on Saturday night from Rogers Place. As previously stated, this event will featue 13 fights.

UFC Edmonton Main Event: No. 10 Contender Joaquin Buckley vs. No. 13 Contender Mike Malott: Buckley Looking to Stop Skid

At the top of the bill for UFC Edmonton, the welterweights go to battle when No. 10 contender Joaquin Buckley (21-8 MMA. 11-6 UFC) meets No. 13 contender Mike Malott (14-2-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC.) This main attraction is an advertised five rounds at five minutes per round to close the evening's activities.

Buckley enters the main event with a record of 3-2 in his last five MMA fights. He's dropped two fights in a row. On the night of May 9, he dropped a unanimous decision at the hands of Sean Brady (19-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) during UFC 328. 

Counting wrestling matches in RAF, Joaquin Buckley is winless in his last four combat sports appearances. How will he fare here?

Mike Malott In Search of Fifth Straight Win

Across the way, Mike Malott has gone 4-1 in his last five contests. At the moment, he's won four fights in sucession. Back on April 18 in Winnipeg, he bested Gilbert Burns (22-10 MMA, 15-10 UFC) by third-round knockout.

Following that fight, Gilbert Burns announced his retirement from MMA after 32 professional fights, 25 of which were under the UFC banner. Malott's knockout victory netted him the Performance of the Night Bonus in the post-fight press conference.

With Malott on a hot streak going into UFC Edmonton, another victory would make five in a row. Can Malott rise up in the rankiings? Tune in and find out.

UFC Edmonton Co-Main Event: No. 4 Contender Erin Blanchfield vs. No. 6 Contender Jasmine Jasudavicius: Blanchfield Returns After Delay

Immediately beforehand, the co-main event of the evening at UFC Edmonton takes place in the women's flyweight division. No. 4 contender Erin Blanchfield (14-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) meets No. 6 contender Jasmine Jasudavicius (15-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC.) This is a three-round fight at five minutes per round. The former comes into the weekend sporting a record of 4-1 in her last five trips to the cage.

Last November, she trekked to Madison Square Garden for a fight against Tracy Cortez (12-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC,) winning by way of second-round submission due to rear-naked choke.  Blanchfield and Jasudavicius were slated to have met on Aug. 15 before the former had to withdraw from UFC 330 due to injury.

With a clean bill of health now afforded to her, how will she fare on the reschedule?

Jasmine Jasudavicius Back After Bizarre Fine

Meanwhile, Jasmine Jasudavicius has a 4-1 record of her own in the last five fights. Almost six months ago in Winnipeg, she scored a unanimous decision victory over Karine Silva (19-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC.)

Her wallet was a little bit lighter, however. Jasudavicius recently revealed that she had been fined $10,000 upon comission officials believing she was using nicotine on fight night.

In reality, she was chewing a piece of gum. Now that the dues are paid, Jasudavicius can focus on what matters most, the fight itself.

UFC Edmonton: Kyle Nelson vs. Cristian Perez: Nelson Looking to Improve After Quick Defeat

Also on UFC Edmonton's main card, the lightweights do battle when Kyle Nelson (17-7-1 MMA, 5-6-1 UFC) meets Cristian Perez (15-2 MMA, UFC promotional debut.) Nelson is 3-2 in his last five appearances.

On March 28 during UFC Seattle inside Climate Pledge Arena, he was on the receiving end of a first-round knockout due to strikes against Terrance McKinney (18-9 MMA, 8-6 UFC.) Time of the knockout: 24 seconds. 

Nelson will be searching for a much better result this week, especially since he'll be fighting in front of his fellow countrymen. His opponent provides a tough challenge on Saturday night.

Cristian Perez Aiming to Impress in UFC Edmonton

In the other corner, Cristian Perez has a mark of 4-1 in his last five MMA fights. At the moment, he's won two in a row.

On Aug. 18, during DWCS 88, Perez made his second Contender Series appearance in as many seasons, finishing Logan Paxton (10-2 MMA) inside the second round. At the end of the show, UFC CEO Dana White awarded him a UFC contract.

Perez won't get a second chance to make a good first impression in the UFC. Only time will tell how he responds to the bright lights of MMA's No. 1 promotion.

Rest of the Card

UFC Edmonton's main card is rounded out by the following fights:

• A middleweight contest between Marc-Andre Barriault (17-11, 1 NC MMA, 6-10, 1 NC UFC) and Kyle Daukaus (17-5, 1 NC MMA, 4-5, 1 NC UFC,)
• a bantamweight bout matching Timmy Cuamba (10-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC) with Louis Jourdain (9-3 MMA, UFC promotional debut,)
• and a lightweight fight versing Mandel Nallo (14-4, 1 NC MMA, 0-1 UFC) against Nate Landwehr (18-8 MMA, 5-6 UFC.)