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.
We’ve got some absolutely massive fights lined up for a number of highly-ranked Canadian veterans and prospects this month. June could mark a huge turning point in a lot of these careers, if they can pull off the win.
UFC Fight Night – Las Vegas – June 5
TV: TSN
265 lbs – Ilir Latifi defeats Tanner Boser by Split Decision (29-28, 27-29, 29-28)
The stakes framing isn't hyperbole — June's slate has MacDonald's second PFL fight, Dawodu on a UFC pay-per-view, Boser's heavyweight bout and a bantamweight title fight on the regional side. For veterans the window to build toward one more run is finite; for the prospects, this is the kind of month that decides who gets noticed.
PFL 2021 #4 – Atlantic City – June 10
TV: TSN Direct – 5:30pm EST
155 lbs – Natan Schulte defeats Alex Martinez by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
155 lbs – Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeats Marcin Held by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Martinez's split-decision loss to Schulte was the night's playoff blow — a tight scorecard against the promotion's defending lightweight champion in a season-format fight where points matter. On the same card, Aubin-Mercier's win over Held kept the Quebec lightweight's season on track, the kind of steady result that compounds in a tournament bracket.
Schulte defending his crown against Martinez is also worth noting for what it says about the matchup — beating the incumbent champion's system once in a season-format fight is hard, and doing it twice in the same year would have been the upset of the lightweight bracket.
UFC 263 – Las Vegas – June 12
TV: *TSN 4 – 8pm EST/#UFC Fight Pass – 6pm EST
145 lbs – Movsar Evloev defeats Hakeem Dawodu by Unanimous Decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
135 lbs – Pannie Kianzad defeats Alexis Davis by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Dawodu and Kianzad both came up short on the same UFC pay-per-view — a rough night for the Canadian contingent in Las Vegas. For Dawodu it was a decision loss to an unbeaten contender; for Kianzad another tough outing at bantamweight. Months like this are the reminder that UFC-level results are earned, not given.
PFL 2021 #5 – Atlantic City – June 17
TV: TSN
170 lbs – Gleison Tibau defeats Rory MacDonald by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
MacDonald's split-decision loss to Tibau was the season's most controversial Canadian result — one judge's swing round decided it, and the fight was close enough that the outcome was debated for days after. Either way it ended the former title challenger's playoff path that season.
UAE Warriors 20 – Abu Dhabi – June 19
TV: Fight Network – 10am EST
135 lbs – Ray Borg defeats Jesse Arnett by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Arnett's shutout loss to Borg in Abu Dhabi was a hard regional result — Borg's pedigree as a former UFC fighter made it a winnable-looking fight on paper that turned into a sweep on the cards. Fights like that are the variance a regional career absorbs.
Midwest Fight League – Missouri – June 19
TV: TBD
Amateur 155 lbs- Jordan Carson defeats Kelvin Krause TKO in Round 2
Carson's second-round TKO win in Missouri was the month's midcard amateur result — MFL cards have been a consistent Midwest stop for Canadian fighters working the U.S. regional circuit.
Ring of Combat 72 – New York – June 19
TV: TBD
Amateur 155 lbs- Ibrahim Simreen defeats Luca Finocchio by Unanimous Decision
Simreen's decision over Finocchio added another Canadian amateur win from Atlantic City — ROC's June card kept the East Coast pipeline producing.
UFC Fight Night 190 – Las Vegas – June 26
TV: TSN
265lbs- Tanner Boser defeats Ovince St. Preux by KO (Punches) in Round 2, 2:31
Boser's second-round KO of St. Preux was the month's biggest Canadian UFC win — a heavyweight finish against a former title challenger is the kind of result that gets a fighter's name into the top-15 conversation.
B2 Fighting Series 125 – Ohio – June 26
TV:
135 lbs – Terry Lemaire (5-2) vs. (C)Jeremy Pender (17-14)
***Bantamweight Title Fight
Lemaire's shot at Pender's bantamweight title in Ohio was the month's regional title fight — a prospect getting a belt shot against a 31-fight veteran is the kind of test a fighter's career is built on.
Canadian Events
June's domestic cards round out the month's picture — BFL and BTC continue to be the pillars of the Canadian regional scene, and the results coming off their cards feed the same pipeline the U.S. circuit is drawing from.
