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.
Canadian fighters are few and far between as we carefully ease into 2022 with only a pair of professionals and a pair of amateurs in action this month. We do have the much-anticipated UFC debut of Jasmine Jasudavicius to look forward to though.
That thin slate says plenty about where Canadian MMA stood at the start of 2022: the regional calendar was still rebuilding after two disrupted years, and even the fighters who were booked were concentrated on a single weekend in late January. What the month lacks in volume, though, it makes up for in significance — particularly the UFC debut that closes out the month.
Invicta FC 45 – Kansas – Jan. 12
TV:
105 lbs – Katie Saull submits Tamika Jones by Armbar in Round 1, 4:30
Saull's armbar finish was the month's first Canadian result and a good one — Invicta has long been the sport's premier women's platform, and a submission win there carries real weight with evaluators watching the atomweight division. It kept the Canadian prospect's record trending in the right direction on a card that is routinely scouted by the major promotions.
Cage Wars 50 – New York – Jan. 21
TV:
135 lbs – Diego Dejesus (4-0) vs. Nathaniel Grubham (5-2)
***Amateur Bantamweight title fight (vacant)
The B2 Fighting Series remained one of the more reliable homes for Canadian amateur and early-career pro fighters through this period — its cards across the U.S. Midwest consistently booked Canadian talent that the shuttered domestic scene couldn't accommodate.
Amateur title fights like this one are the foundation of Canada's talent pipeline — fighters who can win belts on U.S. regional amateur shows tend to transition to the pro ranks with a meaningful head start on experience and confidence.
UFC 270 – Anaheim – Jan. 22
TV: PPV/UFC Fight Pass
145 lbs – Charles Jourdain (12-4-1) vs. Ilia Topuria (11-0)
125 lbs – Jasmine Jasudavicius (6-1) vs. Kay Hansen (7-4)
UFC 270 is the month's marquee event for Canadian MMA, and it comes with two Canadians on the card at once — a rarity worth noting given how sparse the calendar has been. Jourdain-Topuria in particular has aged into a fascinating footnote: Topuria would go on to become one of the sport's biggest names, making this early test against a surging future champion a fight that still gets talked about.
Jasudavicius-Hansen was the long-awaited UFC debut for the St. Catharines prospect, who had built her reputation winning regional titles and grinding through the Contender Series. Landing on a pay-per-view card for a debut is about as big a stage as a new signee can ask for.
B2 Fighting Series 144 – Indiana – Jan. 22
TV:
145 lbs – Chris Henhawk (1-0) vs. Greg Ruby (2-0) *Amateur
Cage Fury 105 – Philadelphia – Jan. 29
TV: UFC Fight Pass
185 lbs – (C)Aaron Jeffery (10-3) vs. Rex Harris (12-5)
*Middleweight Title Fight
Jeffery's CFFC title defense is arguably the month's most important Canadian fight below the UFC level. The middleweight belt he captured had already put him on major-promotion radar, and a successful defense against Harris would be the kind of proof-of-readiness result that tends to precede a call-up — exactly what played out for CFFC champions before him.
That title fight also caps a busy back-half of the month: three of the month's four Canadian pro bookings all land on January 22, making it the de facto Canadian fight weekend of the new year.
Pallas Athena WFC 1
Pallas Athena WFC is a newer name on the women's regional circuit, part of the broader ecosystem of smaller promotions that keep the amateur-to-pro pipeline moving when the major shows aren't accessible.
