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.
December is a bit of a slower month for Canadian MMA, but that’s to be expected with the holidays and the year wrapping up. Six Canadians in action this month including a couple looking to stay unbeaten and a quartet of UFC fighters!
Even a thin holiday month on the calendar tells a story about where Canadian MMA sat in late 2020: with domestic promotions largely shuttered by the pandemic, virtually every Canadian who wanted cage time had to find it on American or international cards. That context made each of these results more meaningful than a normal December slate.
LFA 96 – Kansas – Dec. 4
TV: UFC Fight Pass- 10 p.m. EST
155 lbs- Anthony Romero defeats Zach Juusola by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) FIGHT PREVIEW
A split call that could have gone either way, but for Romero it was another data point in a steady climb through the LFA — the promotion has long served as the UFC's most reliable scouting ground, and winning there is rarely wasted. The Canadian lightweight kept his momentum moving forward at a time when opportunities to fight at all were scarce.
iKon Fighting Federation 4 – Mexico – Dec. 11
TV: UFC Fight Pass- 9 p.m. EST
155 lbs- Alex Martinez submits Christopher Ramirez by Guillotine Choke in Round 1, 1:49
Martinez needed under two minutes to get it done in Mexico, picking up the kind of finish that travels well — guillotine victories in the first round are exactly the sort of result that keeps a prospect's name circulating through the regional scene.
iKon's Mexico-based cards gave a handful of Canadians rare cage time during a stretch when domestic options were effectively zero.
UFC 256 – Las Vegas – Dec. 12
TV: TSN5 (Prelims) – 8 p.m. EST
145 lbs- Gavin Tucker defeats Billy Quarantillo by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
The cleanest performance on the card from a Canadian came from Tucker, who swept all three rounds on every card in a bout that showcased the grappling-heavy pressure he has built his UFC tenure on. It was a meaningful rebound performance that reminded observers why the Newfoundland featherweight had been signed in the first place.
Tucker's win also carried a bigger symbolic weight on a card that ended up being the UFC's last major event of a disrupted year — a fitting note for a fighter who has often fought on Canadian-heavy prelim slates but made this one count on American soil.
CFFC 91 – Pennsylvania – Dec. 18
TV: UFC Fight Pass
170lbs- Mike Malott defeats Solomon Renfro by Technical Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in Round 1, 1:42
The month's loudest result belonged to Malott, who choked a genuinely dangerous prospect unconscious inside two minutes — the kind of statement win that doesn't stay regional for long. Performances like that are the reason the UFC's matchmakers keep CFFC's title picture on speed dial.
UFC Fight Night 183 – Las Vegas – Dec. 19
TV: TSN5 (Prelims) – 5 p.m. EST
125 lbs – Talia Santos defeats Gillian Robertson by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-28)
135 lbs – Aiemann Zahabi (7-2) vs Drako Rodriguez (7-1) *Cancelled*
Robertson's loss was the month's other UFC result for a Canadian — a one-sided decision to a surging Santos that underscored how dangerous the flyweight division's grapplers had become. The margin on the cards, including two rounds scored 30-26, left little ambiguity about the direction of the fight.
The cancelled bout is a small reminder of how fragile the pandemic-era calendar was: Zahabi's return to the cage after a long layoff had been one of the month's more anticipated storylines, and its late cancellation postponed what would have been a meaningful comeback test.
