Joaquin Buckley suffered his third consecutive loss in the UFC Fight Night Edmonton main event, stopped by Canada’s Mike Malott on a second-round knee. The finish, which came at 2:32 of round two, pushes Malott into the welterweight top 10 conversation and raises new questions about Buckley’s path forward.
Buckley’s Skid Reaches Three
Buckley entered Saturday’s main event at 21-9, ranked No. 10 at welterweight and still a betting favorite despite sitting below Malott on paper heading into the matchup. The loss extends his skid to three straight fights, following decision losses to Sean Brady and Kamaru Usman earlier in the year. At Friday’s ceremonial weigh-in, Buckley declined a handshake offered by UFC CEO Dana White, a moment that hinted at the tension building before the fight. At 31, the former top-10 fixture now faces real questions about his standing in a stacked welterweight division, and about how many more losses the promotion will tolerate before dropping him out of ranked company.
The Finish: A Knee That Changed the Fight
The first round went by without either man clearly ahead, both fighters working at range and trading at distance. In round two, Malott worked Buckley against the fence, landing knees to the body before a counter right hand wobbled the American. Buckley answered with a low kick, but Malott closed the sequence with a knee that sent Buckley’s mouthpiece flying and dropped him face first to the canvas. Buckley regained consciousness seconds later but could not get back to his feet, and the referee waved it off at 2:32 of round two, to a building full of fans squarely behind the Canadian.
Malott Makes His Case for the Top 10
The win pushes Malott to 15-2-1, up from his No. 13 ranking heading into the card, and marks his fifth straight victory. “I’m on top of the world right now man, this is incredible,” he said in his post-fight interview. He then set his sights higher: “Somebody in the top 10 at the very least, maybe top five next, baby, let’s go,” though he stopped short of naming an opponent. The Ontario native also credited his brother Jeff, a professional hockey player who competed in his own game earlier that week, for providing extra motivation heading into the fight, thanking him by name in his post-fight interview.
Jasudavicius Upsets Blanchfield in the Co-Main
In the night’s other marquee result, Jasmine Jasudavicius defeated Erin Blanchfield by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 29-28. The Canadian, who came in at 16-4 against Blanchfield’s 14-3, out-grappled the American across all three rounds, controlling top position for long stretches without letting up, despite entering as the betting underdog. The win is Jasudavicius’s seventh in her last eight fights and moves her closer to a potential women’s flyweight title opportunity. For Blanchfield, it marks just the second loss of her UFC career after years as one of the division’s steadiest contenders.
Rest of the Card
Cristian Perez delivered the night’s fastest finish, knocking out Kyle Nelson in 27 seconds. Marc-Andre Barriault stopped Kyle Daukaus with first-round elbows, while Mandel Nallo finished Nate Landwehr in under a minute of round two. Timothy Cuamba submitted Louis Jourdain with a neck crank in round two, and Nick Galanti needed just one round to force a tapout from Julien Leblanc. On the preliminary card, Steven Koslow and Su Young You both won by submission, adding to a night defined by finishes rather than decisions. The full UFC results from Edmonton show Canadian fighters winning nine of thirteen bouts on home turf, a lopsided night for the card’s hosts.
What Comes Next
For Malott, the conversation now turns to a ranked opponent, with the win putting a top-five push within reach before year’s end. For Buckley, the UFC will have to choose between a rebuilding fight against a lower-profile name and the risk of extending a skid that is starting to weigh on his standing. Jasudavicius, meanwhile, edges closer to a ranked flyweight matchup in a division where the list of contenders around the champion remains short. The result also reshuffles the welterweight picture heading into the final stretch of the year, with both camps now pushing the promotion for a ranked opponent on short notice.
