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 generally a lighter month of fights, however, this year we’ve got double-digit Canadians in action internationally, including a handful of high-profile title fights and bouts with ranking implications!
It's an unusually busy December for a country whose fighters have spent two years fighting for scraps of cage time — and it doubles as a showcase of the pipeline's depth, with Canadians competing for major titles on three different continents' worth of cards inside a single month.
Bellator 272 – Connecticut – Dec. 3
TV: YouTube
145 lbs – Jeremy Kennedy defeats Emmanuel Sanchez (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
135 lbs – Josh Hill defeats Jared Scoggins by knockout (punch) in round two, 0:56
Hill's second-round knockout was the louder of the night's two Canadian results — a quick, violent finish from a veteran who has made a career of showing up everywhere the regional circuit stops. For a fighter as well-traveled as Hill, finishes like this are what keep his name in circulation.
Kennedy's clean sweep of the scorecards came against a former title challenger — precisely the level of opponent Bellator signs Canadians to test. Three 30-27 cards against a veteran of Sanchez's caliber is a statement about where Kennedy sits in the featherweight pecking order, and it pushed his promotional record further into title-elimininator territory.
LFA 119 – Phoenix – Dec. 3
TV: UFC Fight Pass
185 lbs – Josh Silveira defeats Jared Revel by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
***Silveira wins vacant middleweight title
Revel's loss stings more for the belt on the line — the LFA middleweight title is one of the regional scene's most recognized prizes, and Silveira's shutout on the cards underlined the gap on the night. For Canadian middleweights, the LFA strap has been a well-worn path toward the major promotions, and Revel came up one fight short of claiming it.
UCC 50 – Panama – Dec. 4
TV:
125 lbs – Bojan Kladnjakovic (6-4) vs. Lee Coville (4-2): RESULT TBD
Kladnjakovic-Coville carried the month's most uncertain outcome going in — a matchup of mid-record veterans on a Panama card, the sort of booking that typically hinges on which fighter's travel and preparation held up better.
LFA 120 – Minnesota – Dec. 10
TV: UFC Fight Pass
125 lbs – Jamey-Lyn Horth Wessels submits Mayra Cantuaria by Rear-Naked Choke in Round 3, 1:50
***Horth Wessels wins Vacant flyweight title
125 lbs – Tony Laramie defeats Tyus White by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Horth Wessels's third-round rear-naked choke was the month's biggest Canadian result on the regional scene — an LFA championship in the deepest women's division outside the UFC. Finishing a title fight late, against a decorated opponent, is the kind of performance that turns a prospect into a priority signing, and the vacant-belt stakes made it the most consequential Canadian win of the month.
Laramie's decision win on the same card gave Canada a second title-fight-adjacent result at LFA 120, continuing a run of Canadian flyweights delivering on the Fight Pass platform that has consistently scouted the division.
UFC 269 – Las Vegas – Dec. 11
TV: TSN
125 lbs – Gillian Robertson submits Priscila Cachoeira by Rear-Naked Choke in Round 1, 4:59
Robertson's first-round submission was the month's most efficient UFC performance from a Canadian — under five minutes to choke a durable opponent and remind the division exactly what she does best. It's the kind of win that keeps a veteran's name relevant in a flyweight picture that never stops moving.
UFC Fight Night 199 – Las Vegas – Dec. 18
TV: TSN
145 lbs – Charles Jourdain (11-4-1) vs. Andre Ewell (17-8)
Jourdain-Ewell closed the month's UFC calendar for Canada — a featherweight bout on the year's final Fight Night between two fighters who thrive on pace and volume. For Jourdain, it was another entry in a busy UFC schedule that has made him one of the most consistently active Canadians on the roster.
Colorado Combat Club 10 – Colorado – Dec. 18
TV:
185 lbs – Elias Theodorou (18-3) vs. Bryan Baker (18-5)
Theodorou-Baker headlined the month's most interesting regional booking — the former UFC middleweight's first fight since leaving the promotion, against a fellow veteran on a Colorado card. Fights like this are where ex-UFC careers either re-launch or stall, and Theodorou's name recognition made it the month's most-watched regional main event for Canadian fans.
That range — a Bellator main-card sweep, two LFA title fights, a first-round UFC submission and an ex-UFC headliner on a Colorado regional — is the strongest one-month cross-section of the Canadian talent pool all year.
