UFC Edmonton: The Biggest Winners & Losers (And What's Next?)

UFC Edmonton was a night for Canada. Rogers Place watched Mike Malott knock out Joaquin Buckley in the main event, Jasmine Jasudavicius upset Erin Blanchfield in the co-main, and the card tied the modern UFC record with 12 finishes in 13 fights. Olin and Jive Turkey Nano went live Monday for the Reactions & What's Next show, and Olin summed it up simply: it was a night all about Mike Malott and Jasmine. Below are the biggest winners, the biggest losers and what should come next for each of them, plus how our picks and bets held up.

Biggest Winners

1. Mike Malott

Olin predicted on last week's show that Malott would finish Buckley in the fourth round. He was off by two rounds. Malott won the range from the opening bell, popping the jab, landing the cleaner shots from the outside and setting up the right hand, exactly the "proper" fight he is known for. In round two he threw a fully extended kick, Buckley stepped into it, and the knee portion caught him flush. The mouthpiece flew like a puck off a slapshot, and Buckley went down on his back. The official result is a KO at 2:32 of round two, and Malott earned a Performance of the Night bonus. Nano pointed out the humility of the sport: Buckley skipped Dana White's handshake and Malott's handshake during fight week, then said afterward that he had never been knocked out like that.

What's next? Malott called for a top-five opponent. Nano thinks that is a little rich and would rather see him against Belal Muhammad, or possibly the winner of Uroš Medić vs. Kevin Holland at UFC 334 on Nov. 14. Olin likes the top-five call. His picks are Jack Della Maddalena, who is coming off two losses, or Ian Machado Garry, or the loser of a potential Michael Morales vs. Carlos Prates fight if that gets booked.

2. Jasmine Jasudavicius

This was Olin's dog of the week, and she delivered. Jasudavicius outgrappled the better-known grappler, landing 5 of 13 takedowns, taking the back, locking in body triangles and threatening chokes while Blanchfield struggled to reverse from the bottom. She piled up nearly eight minutes of control time. Blanchfield landed the cleaner strikes and had the edge late, especially in round three, but she couldn't keep the fight where she wanted it, and she looked frustrated as the control time added up. Jasudavicius won a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three cards. Her striking is still secondary, and she didn't finish when she had the back, but Olin always believed her grappling was better than Blanchfield's. Nano was impressed by the pace, more than four takedown attempts a round, with submission threats on top.

What's next? As the marketing guy in the room, Olin pointed to the announcement made during this very card: UFC 336 is coming to Toronto on Jan. 30, 2027, with no main event set yet. A Canadian title challenger against Natalia Silva fits that card perfectly. Nano agrees a title shot is not out of the question after beating a top-five contender, but with questions around Valentina Shevchenko's status and Alexa Grasso already beaten by Silva, he would also accept a title eliminator. Olin sees Manon Fiorot as the most realistic alternative.

3. Cristian Perez

This one took 27 seconds. Perez missed an early roll, ate a shot from Kyle Nelson, then walked him down, dropped him with a combination and finished him with hammerfists. Olin loved the power, the forward pressure and the willingness to engage immediately. Nano liked that Perez took a punch, recovered and stayed on his mark instead of shying away. The official result is a KO at 0:27 of round one.

What's next? Olin offered Matt Frevola, Daniel Zellhuber or Elves Brener. Nano liked those names but would reward Perez with a small step up, pointing to Jai Herbert as the most he would go for now.

4. Marc-André Barriault

Olin bet against the Power Bar and was happy to be wrong. Kyle Daukaus took Barriault down early and had the better of the opening minutes, but Barriault weathered it, kept his shots at the end of his punches, dropped Daukaus with a knee from the clinch and finished him with elbows at 4:28 of round one. It snapped a two-fight losing streak and earned a Performance of the Night bonus. Nano felt Daukaus has stopped progressing and is becoming one-dimensional, while Barriault's power did the talking in front of the home crowd.

What's next? Nano doesn't want to push Barriault too high yet and suggested Tresean Gore. Olin's pick is Ateba Gautier, who needs to bounce back, with Jun Yong Park or Nursulton Ruziboev as a bigger step up.

5. Mandel Nallo

Nallo picked Nate Landwehr apart with jabs, combinations and especially leg kicks. A calf kick dropped Landwehr early in round two, and the punches that followed ended it at 0:47 of the round. Olin kept yelling at his screen for Landwehr to switch stances, but he never did and kept eating damage on the lead leg. Nano noted that every punch Nallo landed was significant. It was another Performance of the Night bonus for the card, and Olin admitted Nallo is a guy he might draft next season in our fantasy league.

What's next? Olin floated Jai Herbert, Mateusz Rębecki or Nasrat Haqparast. Nano likes Haqparast too and also mentioned Terrance McKinney or Michael Johnson.

Biggest Losers

1. Joaquin Buckley

Buckley was the story of fight week for the wrong reasons, skipping handshakes and dodging media questions. Then he got knocked out cold on the biggest stage of the night. In the chat, WMC noted that Buckley jabbed well against Colby Covington and simply doesn't stick with the technique, and Olin agreed: he isn't consistent. Malott punished every distance closure.

2. Erin Blanchfield

The No. 4 flyweight closed as a heavy favorite and finished the fight on her back. Blanchfield had the better striking and a strong third round, but she spent most of the first two rounds under Jasudavicius, and her own grappling never showed up.

3. Kyle Nelson

Nelson had the power to make it interesting and did rock Perez early, but his durability issues are becoming a real problem. He's getting stopped more often and more quickly, and this time it took 27 seconds.

4. Nate Landwehr

One of the most fun fighters in the sport, and one of its best quote machines, took a beating on his lead leg and couldn't adjust. Olin wondered whether it might be time for Nate the Train to hang up the gloves.

5. Cody Chovancek

We overestimated him, and so did the betting public. You Su-young out-landed Chovancek 82 to 17 in total strikes, went 6 for 8 on takedowns and controlled him for more than 11 minutes before submitting him with a kimura at 4:19 of round three. Olin pointed out that the two fighters landed only six significant strikes combined in more than 14 minutes.

Other Notable Performances

• Timmy Cuamba went 4 for 4 on takedowns against Louis Jourdain, Charles Jourdain's brother, and finished him with a neck crank from back control at 2:48 of round two. Olin picked Jourdain, thinking he could sprawl and brawl. He could brawl, but he couldn't sprawl. Olin wants Rinya Nakamura or Cody Garbrandt next, with Muin Gafurov as an honorable mention.

• Tanner Boser was Olin's favorite fight of the night. Boser told the media during fight week that he had never attempted a takedown in the UFC and wouldn't against Jhonata Diniz, then took him down in every round. Afterward he admitted he lied. He out-landed Diniz 196 to 28 in total strikes and finished him with ground and pound at 4:26 of round three. Olin's names were Marcin Tybura, Ante Delija and Derrick Lewis. Can he hold Lewis down?

• Nick Galanti did exactly what we expected as a heavy favorite, submitting Julien Leblanc with a face crank at 1:26 of round one. Olin and Pip agreed in the predictions show that Leblanc might not be UFC quality yet. Nano and Olin both like Eryk Anders next.

• Joel Faglier survived two knockdowns and a 10-8 first round against Javad Mahjoub, came out fresher in round two and finished him with punches at 2:11. It earned him a Performance of the Night bonus in his UFC debut. Nano called it a true slobberknocker and floated Allen Frye Jr. next, while heavyweight's thin rankings make it hard to match him up much higher.

• Katlyn Cerminara finished Mackenzie Stiller with a head kick and punches at 4:46 of round one, her first finish in the UFC. Olin expected another decision. Both hosts saw it as a tune-up after two years away, and Olin said it's further proof the matchmakers are booking more mismatches. Olin wants Rose Namajunas or Tracy Cortez next.

• Steven Koslow controlled Chad Anheliger for nearly seven minutes and finished him with a rear-naked choke at 4:31 of round three. Pip told us Koslow would be a wet blanket, and he was right. Olin likes Garrett Armfield, a former guest on the show, or Malcolm Wellmaker next, and Nano suggested Christian Quiñonez.

• Chelsea Chandler submitted Melissa Croden with a kimura with eight seconds left in round one (4:52) as an underdog. Olin admitted he has underestimated her. Nano wants Nora Cornolle next, and Olin added the loser of Macy Chiasson vs. Bia Mesquita, or of Yana Santos vs. Luana Santos.

How Our Picks Did

Olin and Pip handled the predictions show last week, and the straight picks were mixed. Olin was right about Malott finishing Buckley (just two rounds early), Jasudavicius over Blanchfield, Galanti over Leblanc, Cerminara over Stiller (though he expected a decision) and Boser over Diniz, where Pip took the other side. His misses came on Kyle Daukaus, Louis Jourdain, Chad Anheliger, Melissa Croden and Cody Chovancek. Pip earned his flowers on Steven Koslow.

The bets were a different story. Olin built a two-leg round robin out of every fighter listed with a Canadian flag on BetOnline. That's 28 parlays at a fifth of a unit each, and only 6 hit. But Malott, Jasudavicius, Barriault and Boser all won, so the round robin returned 9.014 units on 5.6 staked, a 3.414-unit profit. The straight half-unit on Jasudavicius at +262 returned 1.81 units for a 1.31-unit profit. All told, we staked 6.1 units, got back 10.824 and finished up 4.724 units. The one regret: Mandel Nallo never showed a Canadian flag on the app, so he never made the parlay.

Looking Ahead

Malott is now firmly in the welterweight top 10 conversation and asking for the top five. Jasudavicius just beat the No. 4 flyweight with UFC 336 in Toronto on the calendar for Jan. 30. With Contender Series over for the year, the show will keep three episodes a week rolling, including a Tuesday night show.

Stay tuned as we keep breaking down the road ahead for the fighters of UFC Edmonton.