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.
Last month was huge with two dozen Canadians fighting outside the country and this month will be another big one. The current count is 19 and we could have a few more added in the coming days.
Two straight months of this volume would have been unthinkable a few years ago. The regional circuit is now deep enough on both sides of the border that a Canadian flag shows up on nearly every weekend's marquee, and August's slate — playoff stakes in the PFL, a Bellator main card, an LFA homecoming and a UFC bout — is a good cross-section of where the country's talent is actually fighting.
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PFL Playoffs 1: 2022 – New York – Aug. 5
TV: TSN
155 lbs – Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeats Alex Martinez by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27).
*Aubin-Mercier advances to lightweight finals
Aubin-Mercier's sweep of Martinez punched his ticket to the lightweight final and continued what has quietly become one of the steadiest careers in Canadian MMA — round-by-round control against a fellow Canadian in a playoff spot. Quebec's deepest lightweight was once again the class of a Canadian-on-Canadian matchup.
Combate Global – Miami – Aug. 5
TV:
115 lbs – Tanya Nijjar submits Alibeth Milliron by rear-naked choke in round 1, 3:01.
Nijjar's first-round rear-naked choke was the kind of finish Combate Global's audience loves — quick, clean, and on a platform where Canadian women have been getting real showcase minutes in the lighter divisions.
Combat Zone 77 – New Hampshire – Aug. 5
TV:
155 lbs – Ramano Medina defeats Cedric Lochard by split decision.
Medina's split-decision win in New Hampshire was the night's only Canadian result but a valuable one — grinding out a nod on a hostile regional card is the bread and butter of a fighter's early development.
Maverick MMA 20 – Pennsylvania – Aug. 6
TV:
155 lbs – Khaya MacKillop defeats Gabby Giordano by unanimous decision. *Amateur*
115 lbs – Randi Miley submits Rachel Greenwood by armbar in round 3, 1:56. *Amateur*
Maverick MMA continued to be a productive stop for Canadians — MacKillop's decision over Giordano and Miley's late armbar gave the card two Canadian wins on the same night, with the amateur tags marking both as pipeline results worth tracking.
Bellator 284 – South Dakota – Aug. 12
TV: YouTube
185 lbs – Aaron Jeffery defeats Austin Vanderford by TKO (punches) in round 1, 1:25
135 lbs – Marcos Breno defeats Josh Hill by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Jeffery's first-round stoppage of Vanderford was the month's biggest Canadian win — taking out an unbeaten, world-ranked middleweight in a title-relevant fight puts the Ontario native in real contender conversations. Hill's decision loss to Breno on the same card was a setback for the bantamweight veteran, whose job it is now to regroup off a tight scorecard.
PFL Playoffs 2: 2022 – Wales – Aug. 13
TV: TSN
170 lbs – Dilano Taylor defeats Rory MacDonald by TKO (punches) in round 1, 3:59
MacDonald's first-round stoppage loss to Taylor in Cardiff was the month's toughest Canadian headline — the veteran's second PFL playoff run ended early against a younger opponent, and it underlined how unforgiving the promotion's tournament format can be to fighters who fall behind early.
UFC on ESPN 41 – San Diego – Aug. 13
TV: TSN
125 lbs – Angela Hill defeats Lupita Godinez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Godinez's razor-thin decision loss to Hill was a hard-luck result — three straight 29-28 cards against one of the division's most experienced strawweights is a loss that arguably raises a fighter's stock anyway. The Mexican-Canadian's volume and pace kept her in every second of it.
Flogger Series 8 – Pakistan – Aug. 14
TV: Facebook
145 lbs – Jett Grande defeats Nasratullah Sharifi by unanimous decision
***Grande wins vacant Featherweight title
Grande's title win in Pakistan was the month's most unusual road result — going to a developing MMA market and taking a promotion's vacant featherweight crown is exactly the kind of opportunistic booking that builds both a record and a reputation abroad.
LFA 139 – Niagara Falls – Aug. 19
TV: UFC Fight Pass
155 lbs – Junior Melo defeats Adam Assenza by TKO (punches) in round 3, 0:59
135 lbs – Teshay Gouthro defeats Arnold Jiminez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
125 lbs – Tony Laramie (6-2) vs. Rodney Kealohi (5-3) *Canceled*
155 lbs – Luke Roberts submits Derrick Patterson by rear-naked choke in round 1, 4:59
125 lbs – Alex Moher submits Kevin Hixon by arm-triangle choke in round 2, 1:46 *Amateur*
LFA's stop in Niagara Falls made this the closest thing August had to a home card, and the Canadians delivered. Melo's late TKO of Assenza headlined a night that also saw Gouthro's shutout decision, Roberts's first-round rear-naked choke and Moher's amateur arm-triangle — the Laramie cancellation was the card's one disappointment.
ONE Championship 160 – Singapore – Aug. 26
TV: YouTube
125 lbs – Christian Lee defeats Rae Yoon Ok by TKO (knees) in round 2, 1:00
***Lee reclaims Welterweight title
Lee's second-round finish to reclaim the welterweight crown was a reminder of where the ceiling is for Canadian-developed talent — a champion on ONE's global stage, and one of the highest-profile belts a fighter with Canadian roots currently holds.
CFFC 112 – Philadelphia – Aug. 26
TV: UFC Fight Pass
125 lbs – James Clarke defeats Aaron La Farge by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Clarke's narrow decision over La Farge kept the Canadian flyweight's momentum intact — the promotion's Philadelphia cards have been a regular landing spot for Eastern Canadian talent.
UWC 37 – Tijuana – Aug. 26
TV: UFC Fight Pass
170 lbs – Tyler Vankill defeats Jose Luis Rios by TKO (punches) in round 1, 0:57
Vankill's sub-minute TKO in Tijuana was the month's quickest Canadian finish — the kind of first-round result that makes a highlight package on its own.
DWCS – Las Vegas – Aug. 30
TV: TSN
145 lbs – Blake Bilder submits Alex Morgan by rear-naked choke in round 1, 3:15
Bilder's first-round rear-naked choke on the Contender Series stage was the month's highest-leverage result — one clean finish in front of the UFC's matchmakers is worth more than a year of regional wins, and it's the path more Canadian prospects are taking to the big show.
