EDMONTON, Alberta — The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Rogers Place on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 291, bringing significant divisional stakes to Western Canada with a card headlined by surging welterweights and top flyweight contenders, MMA Junkie reported.
The event, streamed nationally on Paramount+, positioned Canadian standout Mike Malott against American Joaquin Buckley in the evening’s five-round main event. According to Sports Illustrated, the matchup carries considerable weight in the 170-pound division, as Malott entered on a four-fight winning streak following an April stoppage of former title challenger Gilbert Burns at UFC Winnipeg. Buckley arrived seeking to halt the home-country favorite and solidify his own path toward the top tier of the weight class.
Early adversity gives way to hometown relief
Before the marquee bouts got underway, the event provided a roller-coaster emotional arc for local spectators. Bleacher Report reported that Canadian fighters suffered defeats in five consecutive bouts during the preliminary card, dampening the atmosphere early in the evening.
Bantamweight Cody Chovancek surrendered a third-round kimura submission to Su Young You, and Melissa Croden tapped out to a first-round kimura against Chelsea Chandler, according to Sherdog’s round-by-round reporting. Further preliminary losses followed when Chad Anheliger fell to a late third-round rear-naked choke against Steven Koslow, and Julien Leblanc was submitted in only 86 seconds by promotional newcomer Nick Galanti.
That slide finally reversed in the featured preliminary heavyweight clash. Alberta native Tanner Boser secured a third-round technical knockout against Brazil’s Jhonata Diniz, Bleacher Report reported. The victory marked Boser’s first triumph since 2023 and pushed his career mark to 23-11-1, stabilizing his standing in his second promotional stint while delivering the arena its first home victory of the night.
Divisional stakes at 125 and 170 pounds
Beyond the national storyline, the Edmonton card serves as a major sorting ground for title contention in multiple weight classes. In the co-main event, third-ranked flyweight contender Erin Blanchfield faced Canada’s Jasmine Jasudavicius in a contest with direct implications for the 125-pound championship picture, Sports Illustrated reported.
Jasudavicius entered the contest having established herself as one of the division’s most durable and active fighters, while Blanchfield looked to cement her standing near the front of the line for a championship opportunity. Veteran Katlyn Cerminara also bolstered the flyweight narrative earlier in the evening, securing her first stoppage victory in more than a decade when she finished promotional newcomer Mackenzie Stiller via first-round technical knockout, according to Sherdog.
Action unfolds on the main card
Main-card action also shifted momentum quickly. Sports Illustrated reported that Mandel Nallo rebounded from a prior promotional setback by finishing fan favorite Nate Landwehr with a technical knockout just 47 seconds into the second round.
That bout was followed by Timmy Cuamba earning a second-round neck-crank submission against promotional debutant Louis Jourdain, and middleweight Marc-Andre Barriault stopping Kyle Daukaus with strikes late in the opening round, according to Sports Illustrated’s fight recaps.
With the upper portion of the card underway, the UFC’s welterweight and women’s flyweight hierarchies await the ultimate outcomes of the top two bouts, which will determine whether Canada gains two immediate title contenders heading into the promotion’s late-year schedule.
