Thirteen Canadian MMA fighters set to take on the Octagon
Abby Weidman, Contributor
On Oct. 17, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will bring The Octagon to Roger Place in Edmonton. This evening will be the second time UFC Fight Night has been held on a Canadian stage in 2026 and the second time UFC has held an event in Edmonton since the pandemic, sparking a comeback for mixed martial arts across the country.
Fans will get to witness some of the sport’s biggest names go head-to-head—such as main event Canadian fighter Mike Malott vs. Joaquin Buckley and co-main event Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Erin Blanchfield.
While some fighters are returning to the Octagon, others, like Calgary-based Javad Mahjoub, are getting ready for their long-awaited UFC debut.
A Canadian comeback
After COVID-19, there was a lack of exposure for Canadian fighters, which made it hard for contenders to build their records, gain visibility and compete in front of home crowds. Strict health rules and high costs forced local gyms and in-arena competitions to shut down, which made it difficult for young fighters to compete at home.
In 2023, the UFC announced long-term broadcast deals with Sportsnet and TVA Sports set to start in 2024. This meant the UFC broadcasts would once again be shown regularly to Canadians, increasing local exposure for up-and-coming Canadian fighters.
Sportsnet became home for the English-language broadcasts, including Fight Night and the preliminary rounds of Pay-Per-View cards, while TVA Sports took on the French-language broadcasts.
Hosting its sixth competitive night in Canada since the pandemic, the UFC has officially made a consistent comeback onto Canadians’ screens, giving the sport more exposure to the Canadian audience. This return has also featured more homegrown talent on their fight cards—including the professional signing and debut of Mahjoub in Fight Night Edmonton.
Canada’s newest UFC fighter
Mahjoub will make his UFC professional debut in the Rogers Place Octagon against England’s Louie Sutherland. The 35-year-old heavyweight took a long path to the UFC, transitioning to mixed martial arts after a long career in international judo.
Throughout his fighting career, Mahjoub has earned 14 medals from the International Judo Federation, and he also represented Iran at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. In 2017, he and his family fled his home country of Iran due to political pressures, seeking refuge in Canada. He later returned to the global stage at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, competing for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.
Along with his move to Canada, Mahjoub transitioned from judo to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), seeing an opportunity to reach a much larger audience through the sport.
“We have to be realistic, the world of MMA is much bigger than that of judo; there are many more fans and far fewer for judo,” Mahjoub said in an interview with Le Journal de Montréal.
Mahjoub began his professional MMA fighting career at 31 years old, initially training at Montreal’s renowned Tristar Gym, where Canadian UFC legend George St-Pierre trained. He has since put forth an undefeated 5-0 record across regional competitions in Canada, Brazil and South Korea—one of which was a first-round submission victory at Unified MMA 67 in February 2026.
Now training out of Alavanca in Calgary, Mahjoub has signed with Dominance MMA Management to help him compete in larger events like UFC Fight Night.
His opponent, Sutherland, has a 11-6 professional record and holds an experience advantage over Mahjoub. However, Mahjoub will have the backing of an Alberta crowd eager to welcome the sport back to the Canadian market.
On Oct. 17, the Edmonton fight card will feature six main-card and seven preliminary-round fights. UFC Fight Night Edmonton is set to break a record with the most Canadians on a single fight card, with 13 Canadian fighters featured. While some are returning fan favourites, others, like Mahjoub, are just starting their UFC journey.
Javad Mahjoub, 35-years-old, is set to be one the oldest
fighters to make his Octagon debut in the UFC. Photo
courtesy of Instagram / @javadmahjoub.offical
