The UFC went to Canada for the third time in the past 18 months, this time with a UFC Edmonton card that had big stakes attached to it.
The card featured a pair of two-time champions in the main and co-main events. Canadian fighters went 2-2 to complete the rest of the main card. It started with a mix of timid decisions and fun finishes before Brandon Moreno capped it off with one of his better performances to date. Let’s look at what should be next for Moreno, Erin Blanchfield and the rest of the winners on the main card.
Brandon Moreno
The Assassin Baby looked rejuvenated after losing a pair of split decisions to the current champion and the current number 1 ranked contender. He fought like someone who needed some time off and clearly benefited from it. He took all five rounds on all but one judge’s scorecard. He found his rhythm early and made sure Amir Albazi couldn’t catch up to him.
With this win, he gets to keep his number 2 ranking, but it does put him in an interesting position. He’s in a very similar spot as Max Holloway was when he lost his rematch to Alexander Volkanovski. Like Holloway after he dismantled Calvin Kattar, beating one contender won’t be enough when 0-2 against the champion.
With Moreno having fought everyone ranked in the top5, some of them multiple times, who can he fight next? A fight that could make sense is Henry Cejudo should he ever choose to drop back down to flyweight, though there are no apparent signs that it will happen. We then go to the next closest contender who isn’t coming off a loss, and that is Kazakhstan’s Asu Almabayev. He is ranked 7th and is undefeated in the UFC, having won all four of his fights. It’s a tough fight for Almabayev, but he did call for the elite of the division after his most recent fight against Matheus Nicolau. So let’s see what’s got.
Moreno’s next fight: Asu Almabayev
Erin Blanchfield
This is by far the biggest win of Blanchfield’s career. While her game plan looked confusing after two rounds, she did eventually impose herself and took the remaining three rounds on all the scorecards.
Her next fight is fairly obvious and it’s the one she called for on the mic: Alexa Grasso. The former champion is in need of a couple great wins if she wants to stay in the mix after the egg she laid at the Sphere. A win over a surging contender like Blanchfield is a great place to start.
Blanchfield’s next fight: Alexa Grasso
Brendson Ribeiro
Ribeiro came into the UFC with a big upset knockout on last year’s season of Dana White’s Contender Series. It was then his turn to get knocked out in the first round when he lost to Zhang Mingyang in his debut. Those two fights showed us that the Brazilian wasn’t afraid to throw down and whether he would win or lose, he would make it entertaining. However, since that loss, he has fought a lot more timidly. Losing a decision to Magomed Gadzhiyasulov back in June and now winning a close, uneventful one against Caio Machado.
I thought there was a good chance the loser of this fight would be presented with their walking papers, so getting the win is what mattered. While Ribeiro was probably never going to become a real player at 205 lbs, he has now sent the message that he cannot even be relied upon to deliver exciting fights, making him even less valuable. For that reason, I see him being fed to someone the promotion actually has some stock in.
That description fits the 27-year-old, 10-0 Diyar Nurgozhay who got a sweet head kick KO on this year’s Contender Series.
Ribeiro’s next fight: Diyar Nurgozhay
Jasmine Jasudavicius
Jasudavicius used her size to overwhelm Ariane da Silva and get her second D’arce choke finish of the year. She now finds herself on a three-fight win streak and keeps climbing the rankings. Already being 35, the Canadian will look to keep fighting women ranked above her. Still, having lost convincingly to Natalia Silva and Tracy Cortez, she cannot be fast tracked to the top.
In two weeks, veteran Viviane Araújo will take on ascending contender Karine Silva at Madison Square Garden. With both of them ranked not too far ahead of Jasudavicius, the loser of that fight makes a lot of sense for her.
Jasudavicius’ next fight: Loser of Araújo/K. Silva
Dustin Stoltzfus
Stoltzfus got a great bounce back win after getting knocked out by Brunno Ferreira back in June. After the win, former foe Joe Pyfer called for a rematch with Stoltzfus after losing to him in 2020 on the Contenders Series because of a slam that resulted in an injury. It’s clear that since then, the UFC has put a lot more stock into Pyfer and this is most likely a matchup that he would now be favoured to win.
If Pyfer wants to avenge it and the UFC wants to be in the Joe Pyfer business, why not? They can even argue over who got the better KO of Marc-André Barriault.
Stoltzfus’ next fight: Joe Pyfer
Mike Malott
Proper Mike was by far the biggest hope Canada had coming into this year. He came into the UFC getting three consecutive finishes and was set up to enter the rankings this past January when he fought Neil Magny. He was well on his way to win when he suddenly imploded and got finished in the last minute of the fight. That finish soured a lot of people, and it was going to be tough for Malott to regain the hype he once had.
Trevin Giles, a man he had already beaten in a grappling match, should have given him plenty of confidence entering this fight. Yet, he clearly didn’t feel comfortable chasing a finish like he used to do, and instead opted to point-fight his way to a decision.
With him turning 33 this week, it’s not even like the UFC can take their time to rebuild him. Let’s put him in there with another prospect who finds himself in a similar position. Gabriel Bonfim also came into the promotion with a ton of hype and lost to a veteran before rebounding this year with a forgettable decision victory. It’s sink-or-swim time. Let’s see who the UFC should put their stock into.
Malott’s next fight: Gabriel Bonfim
