One mistake was all it took for a spotlight reel end to carry Edmonton to its toes.
Fighting for the seventh straight time in his native Canada, the surging welterweight Mike Malott landed a devastating knee to knock out Joaquin Buckley early in the second spherical of Saturday evening’s UFC Edmonton principal occasion at Rogers Place. It wasn’t just any knockout, either. It was a completely timed knee that landed flush on Buckley’s jaw just as he was throwing a left hand.
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Upon impression, Buckley’s mouthpiece came flying out of his mouth as he dropped to the canvas with his legs splayed out — and after a single follow-up punch, referee Marc Goddard called the battle.
“I’m on top of the world right now man, this is incredible,” Malott said, soaking up the crowd’s response to what was his fifth straight victory. “I asked my coaches, ‘That happened for real, right? I’m not about to wake up and it’s fight morning and I just dreamed that? This is real?'”
It turns out it was all too actual, just the same as Malott’s rising stock in the UFC’s most stacked division.
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It was powerful sledding in the first spherical, as the slight underdog Buckley — who was ranked No. 10 on the UFC’s Meta welterweight rankings coming in — confirmed poise and endurance in touchdown in boxing vary, fantastically countering many of Malott’s high kicks.
But halfway through the second spherical, Malott (15-2-1) threw the game-changer just as Buckley (21-9) was coming in for offense of his own. The commentators called if a “star-making” shot, and it was the form of blow that could finish up in dialogue for knockout of the yr come December.
“Hey guys, I might be soft spoken, but I’m f***ing hard hitting,” Malott said as he watched the replay of the knockout on the large screen.
After thanking the UFC brass for giving him a headlining spot in his home nation, Malott was requested if there was anybody he’d like to call out — and as is his customized, he deferred.
“Come on man, you know that’s not my style to call people out,” he said. “I see a lot of dangerous guys in the top 10, but I keep fighting better and better and more dangerous guys, and my performances keep getting better. So I think that climb is just going to continue.
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“Somebody in the high 10 [next] at the very least, perhaps high 5 next, child, let’s go.”
With the victory, Malott has made his case for entry into the top 10 at 170 pounds (he was ranked No. 13 on the Meta rankings coming in), following up what was a big TKO win over Gilbert Burns in a headlining spot in Winnipeg. Hailing from Burlington, Ontario, he may be uncomfortable with talks of him being the UFC’s new Georges St-Pierre, but he has earned the distinction of contender.
The 32-year-old Buckley (21-9) has now lost three fights in a row, after having dropped his previous two decisions against Sean Brady and Kamaru Usman. Buckley made waves on Friday for snubbing Dana White’s offer to shake hands at the ceremonial weigh-ins.
Before Buckley’s recent skid he had put together an impressive run of six straight victories.
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In the night’s co-main event, underdog Jasmine Jasudavicius more than played spoiler in her home country against Erin Blanchfield — she perhaps placed herself in the conversation for the next women’s flyweight title shot.
Using a strong ground game and superior grappling, Jasudavicius (16-4) rode an early lead to sweep the scorecards in what was the biggest victory of her career.
The judges scored the fight 29-28 unanimously in Jasudavicius’ favor.
With the win, Jasudavicius has now won seven of her last eight fights, while the 27-year-old Blanchfield (14-3) loses for just the second time in her UFC career.
Check out complete UFC Edmonton: Malott vs. Buckley results and highlights below.
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Main card
Welterweight: Mike Malott def. Joaquin Buckley via KO at 2:32 (knee and punch) of R2 | Watch end
Women’s flyweight: Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Erin Blanchfield via unanimous choice (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight: Cristian Perez def. Kyle Nelson via KO (punches) at :27 of R1 | Watch end
Middleweight: Marc-Andre Barriault def. Kyle Daukaus via TKO (elbows) at 4:28 of R1 | Watch end
Bantamweight: Timmy Cuamba def. Louis Jourdain via submission (neck crank) at 2:48 of R2 | Watch end
Lightweight: Mandel Nallo def. Nate Landwehr via TKO (leg kicks and punches) at :47 of R2 | Watch end
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Preliminary card
Heavyweight: Tanner Boser def. Jhonata Diniz via TKO (punches) at 4:26 of R3 | Watch end
Middleweight: Nick Galanti def. Julien Leblanc via submission (face crank) at 1:26 of R1 | Watch end
Heavyweight: Joel Faglier def. Javad Mahjoub via TKO (punches) at 2:11 of R2 | Watch end
Women’s flyweight: Katlyn Cerminara def. Mackenzie Stiller via TKO (punches) at 4:46 of R1 | Watch end
Bantamweight: Steven Koslow def. Chad Anheliger via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:31 of R3 | Watch end
Women’s bantamweight: Chelsea Chandler def. Melissa Croden via submission (kimura) at 4:52 of R1 | Watch end
Bantamweight: SuYoung You def. Cody Chovancek via submission (kimura) at 4:19 of R3 | Watch end
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