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 going to be a colossal month for Canadian fighters on the biggest stage of them all. As of right now, there are seven fighters set to step into the UFC cage this month, including several high-profile matchups as well as two big Bellator bouts and a couple exciting first-round matchups at PFL, not to mention a pair of top prospects live on UFC Fight Pass.
Seven UFC fighters in one month is the kind of concentration that used to be a once-a-year event for Canadian fans — and the regional circuit underneath it is just as busy, with XMMA, LFA, Fury FC and 247 FC all landing Canadian results in the same four weeks.
XMMA 4 – New Orleans – April 2
TV: YouTube
135 lbs – John Sweeny defeats Cole Smith by Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
135 lbs – Louie Sanoudakis defeats Tateki Matsuda by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Sweeny's split-decision win and Sanoudakis's shutout gave Canada a two-for-two night on the Gulf Coast — XMMA's Louisiana cards have quietly become a reliable regional platform for bantamweights from north of the border.
UFC 273 – Brooklyn – April 9
TV: TSN
170 lbs – Mike Malott defeats Mickey Gall by TKO (Punches) in Round 1, 3:47
Malott's first-round TKO of Gall was the month's biggest Canadian highlight — a welterweight debut stoppage on a UFC pay-per-view that turned him from regional prospect into a name fans were actually talking about. Finishes like that on the biggest stage are what change a fighter's trajectory overnight.
Bellator 277 – San Jose – April 15
TV: YouTube
145 lbs – Jeremy Kennedy (17-3) vs. Aaron Pico (9-3) *Cancelled*
Kennedy's bout with Pico falling through was the month's first big scratch — a matchup that would have been one of Bellator's higher-profile Canadian bookings of the spring.
Ace Combat – Alaska – April 15
TV:
170 lbs – Tom Theocharis (4-4) defeats Jesse Hull by KO in Round 1
***Theocharis wins Middleweight Title
Theocharis's first-round KO for the middleweight title in Alaska was the month's most remote Canadian belt — regional titles in far-flung markets are still real hardware, and they tend to be the results that get noticed when matchmakers are scrolling records.
UFC on ESPN 34 – Las Vegas – April 16
TV: TSN
145 lbs – Pat Sabatini defeats TJ Laramie by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
155 lbs – Rafa Garcia submits Jesse Ronson by Rear-Naked Choke in Round 2, 4:50
Sabatini's sweep of Laramie and Ronson's second-round submission loss made it a split Canadian night on the same UFC card — one fighter extending a streak, the other back to the drawing board, which is how the UFC's middle of the roster actually works.
247 Fighting Championship – Pennsylvania – April 16
TV:
135 lbs – Devon Lozej submits Justin Patton by Rear-Naked Choke in Round 2
125 lbs – Willow Morton defeats Rachel Greenwood by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Lozej's second-round rear-naked choke and Morton's decision over Greenwood kept 247 FC's run of Canadian results rolling — the Pennsylvania promotion continues to be one of the most productive regional homes for the country's developing fighters.
PFL 1: 2022 – Arlington – April 20
TV: TSN
155 lbs – Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeats Natan Schulte by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
155 lbs – Alexander Martinez defeats Stevie Ray by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Aubin-Mercier's split nod over Schulte and Martinez's decision over Ray opened Canada's PFL season 2-0 — two lightweights taking points in the season format, where every regular-season win carries real playoff weight.
LFA 130 – North Dakota – April 22
TV: UFC Fight Pass
185 lbs – Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz defeats Alessandro Gambulino by TKO (Knee to the Body and Punches) in Round 1, 1:29
Ksiazkiewicz's first-round stoppage was the month's quickest Canadian LFA finish — the knee-to-the-body sequence is the kind of highlight a fighter's career keeps replaying.
Bellator 278 – Hawaii – April 22
TV: YouTube
135 lbs – Josh Hill (21-4) vs. Enrique Barzola (17-5-2) *Cancelled*
*Bantamweight Grand Prix wild card fight
Hill's Grand Prix wild-card bout with Barzola getting cancelled was the month's most frustrating non-result — a spot in Bellator's bantamweight bracket was a real career opportunity that never got to happen.
Bellator 279 – Hawaii – April 23
TV: YouTube
155 lbs – Lance Gibson Jr. defeats Nainoa Dung by Unanimous Decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)
120 lbs – Randi Field submits Maraya Miller by Rear-Naked Choke in Round 2, 0:48
Gibson Jr.'s dominant decision and Field's second-round rear-naked choke made Hawaii a productive Canadian night — two wins on back-to-back Bellator cards in the islands, and Field's finish in particular kept the momentum going on the women's side.
UFC Fight Night – Las Vegas – April 23
TV: TSN
265 lbs – Tanner Boser (20-8-1) vs. Alexander Romanov (15-0) *Cancelled*
145 lbs – Charles Jourdain submits Lando Vannata by Guillotine Choke in Round 1, 2:32
190 lbs – Marc-Andre Barriault submits Jordan Wright by Guillotine Choke in Round 1, 2:36
April 23rd's card was the month's best Canadian UFC night: Jourdain's first-round guillotine and Barriault's one-minute-later mirror image of the same finish gave Canada a double-submission highlight package, with only Boser's cancelled heavyweight bout keeping it from being perfect.
Fury FC 60 – Texas – April 24
TV: UFC Fight Pass
155 lbs – Anthony Romero defeats Kenneth Glenn by KO (Flying Knee) in Round 2, 4:39
Romero's flying-knee KO was the month's most acrobatic Canadian finish — a Round-2 airborne stoppage on a UFC Fight Pass regional is exactly the clip that makes a prospect's next call easier.
Cage Wars 52 – New York – April 29
TV:
135 lbs – Alex Gluzman defeats Ryan Hickey by Unanimous Decision *Amateur
Gluzman's amateur decision win closed out the month's regional ledger — New York-area cards have been a steady landing spot for Eastern Canadian amateurs.
UFC Fight Night – Las Vegas – April 30
TV: TSN
145 lbs – Darren Elkins defeats Tristan Connelly by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
170 lbs – Gabe Green defeats Yohan Lainesse by TKO (Punches) in Round 2, 4:02
Connelly and Lainesse both coming up short on the 30th closed a big month on a down note — but a month that produced a Malott debut KO, a Jourdain guillotine and a Barriault finish is still the kind of stretch Canadian MMA can build on.
