Every month, MMA Empire will bring you a comprehensive list of any and all Canadian fighters who will be competing in MMA events outside Canada. Check back every week to keep up to date with all the results.
April is loaded with Canadian content with over a dozen fighters competing in the UFC, Bellator, ONE Championship, PFL, LFA, Brave CF, CFFC, and more.
April is the kind of month that shows how far Canadian MMA has come — the count spans nearly every major and regional promotion on the calendar, from UFC title-adjacent bouts to first-round finishes on small U.S. regional cards. When the country's name shows up across the whole ecosystem at once, it says more about the depth of the scene than any single headline result.
Brave CF 50 – Bahrain – April 1
TV: Fight Network – 11 a.m. EST (March 31)
135 lbs- Brad Katona submits Borislav Nikolic by Guillotine Choke in Round 3, 0:40
Katona's third-round guillotine was exactly the kind of statement finish a fighter needs on the international circuit — going to Bahrain and tapping Nikolic under a minute into the final round is the sort of clip that travels. Brave CF's global cards have been a reliable platform for Canadian bantamweights building a record beyond North America.
Bellator 255 – Connecticut – April 2
TV: YouTube – 6 p.m. EST
155 lbs- Mandel Nallo defeats Ricardo Seixas by KO (Superman Punch) in Round 1, 3:23
Nallo's Superman-punch KO was the month's flashiest finish — a highlight-reel shot that flattened Seixas early and put the lightweight prospect on every Canadian fan's radar. Bellator's Connecticut studio cards were built for exactly this kind of moment, and Nallo delivered it.
CFFC 95 – Philadelphia – April 2
TV: UFC Fight Pass
135 lbs- Mateo Vogel submits Garrett Armfield by Rear-Naked Choke in Round 2, 2:28
Vogel's rear-naked choke over Armfield was the other big submission of the week — a composed finish against quality opposition on a platform the UFC's matchmakers watch closely. Results like this are why Vogel was one of the country's more talked-about bantamweights.
Mountain Force 24 – Montana – April 4
TV:
265 lbs- Finn Higgins defeats Eduardo Fernandez by Unanimous Decision *Amateur
Higgins's decision win on the amateur side was the month's quieter result — heavyweight prospects take longer to develop, and stacking rounds on small U.S. regional cards is how Canadian heavyweights get the cage time the domestic scene can't always provide.
Bellator 256 – Connecticut- April 9
TV: YouTube – 9 p.m. EST
145 lbs- Adam Borics defeats Jeremy Kennedy by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Kennedy's decision loss to Borics was a tough result in a high-profile spot — a competitive scorecard against one of the division's rising names. For a veteran of Kennedy's calibre the path forward was always going to run through exactly these kinds of stylistic tests.
UFC Fight Night 189 – Las Vegas – April 10
TV: TSN5 – 1 p.m. EST
155 lbs- John Makdessi defeats Ignacio Bahamondes by Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Makdessi's split-decision win was a veteran's nod — the kind of tight, competitive fight where ring generalship and experience edge the cards. Bahamondes was a dangerous unproven test, and Makdessi passing it kept his UFC run moving forward.
Peak Fighting 10 – Arkansas – April 10
TV: Internet PPV – 7:30 p.m. EST
145 lbs- Patrick Connors (3-2) vs. Dakota Hope (4-0)
***Featherweight Title Fight (Vacant)
Connors's featherweight title shot in Arkansas was a quiet opportunity worth tracking — vacant regional belts are how fighters announce themselves to the next level, and Peak Fighting has been a real stop on the development ladder.
ONE Championship – Singapore – April 14
TV: YouTube – 8:30 p.m. EST
155 lbs- (C)Christian Lee (14-3) vs. Timofey Nastyukhin (14-4)
***Lightweight Title Fight
265 lbs- Dustin Joynson (6-0) vs. Kirill Grishenko (3-0)
Lee's lightweight title defence headlined the month's biggest international stage — a champion with Canadian roots carrying a belt on ONE's Singapore showcase, with heavyweight Joynson's promotional debut adding a second Canadian thread to the card.
Bellator 257 – Connecticut – April 16
TV: YouTube 6 p.m. EST (Prelims) 9 p.m. EST (Main Card)
145 lbs- Julia Budd (14-3) vs. Dayana Silva (9-5)
155 lbs- Lance Gibson Jr. (3-0) vs. Marcus Surin (6-2)
Budd's featherweight bout and Gibson Jr.'s lightweight spot gave Bellator's April card a double dose of Canadian interest — one of the country's most decorated women and one of its rising second-generation names on the same event.
LFA – April 15
TV: UFC Fight Pass
185 lbs- Julien Leblanc (5-1) vs. Joel Bauman (3-1)
Leblanc's matchup with Bauman was the month's LFA entry — middleweight prospects trading regional rounds on one of the promotion's most-scouted platforms.
UFC on ESPN 22 – Las Vegas – April 17
TV: TSN
115 lbs- Lupita Godinez (5-0) vs. Jessica Penne (12-5)
Godinez's booking against Penne was the UFC strawweight picture coming into focus for the Mexican-Canadian — an unbeaten prospect against a veteran gatekeeper is the classic UFC proving ground.
Coastal Combat 9 – Australia – April 17
TV: PPV
135 lbs amateur – Jake Pitfield (3-1) vs. Val Sharipov (2-1)
Pitfield's amateur bout in Australia was the month's long-distance result — Canadian fighters taking regional spots abroad is a small but real part of how the country's depth keeps showing up.
PFL 2021 #1 – Atlantic City – April 23
TV: TSN
155lbs- Alex Martinez (7-0) vs. Loik Radzhabov (13-2-1)
Martinez's PFL debut against Radzhabov was the tournament season's Canadian curtain-raiser — an unbeaten lightweight stepping into the promotion's season format, where one bad night carries playoff consequences.
UFC 261 – Las Vegas – April 24
TV: UFC Fight Pass
145lbs- Tristan Connelly (14-6) vs. Pat Sabatini (13-3)
Connelly's bout with Sabatini put the card's Canadian interest on the undercard — a veteran featherweight getting his shot on one of the year's biggest pay-per-views.
PFL 2021 #2 – Atlantic City – April 29
TV: TSN
170 lbs- Rory MacDonald (21-6-1) vs. Curtis Millender (18-6)
205 lbs- Smealinho Rama (11-5-1) vs. Jordan Young (11-1)
MacDonald's PFL debut was the month's most-watched Canadian storyline — the former UFC title challenger opening his tournament run against Millender, with Rama's light-heavyweight bout giving the card a second Canadian thread.
