UFC Fight Night: Joaquin Buckley vs Mike Malott Preview & Prediction

Canadian standout Mike Malott headlines on home soil against the explosive Joaquin Buckley, in a five round welterweight clash with big ranking implications.

Joaquin Buckley vs Mike Malott facts

What time are Joaquin Buckley and Mike Malott expected to walk out? 18 October 2026 at 3:30 am

Where is UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs Malott? Rogers Place, Edmonton, Canada

Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs Malott? Click here for the latest ticket information for UFC Fight Night 291

What TV channel is UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs Malott on? UK – TNT Sports / USA – Paramount

Where can I stream UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs Malott? UK – TNT Sports can stream the event online via the TNT Sports website and HBO Max / USA – Paramount+ & UFC Fight Pass

UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs Malott main card

Joaquin Buckley vs Mike Malott (Welterweight)

Erin Blanchfield vs Jasmine Jasudavicius (Women’s Flyweight)

Kyle Nelson vs Cristian Perez (Lightweight)

Marc-Andre Barriault vs Kyle Daukaus (Middleweight)

Louis Jourdain vs Timothy Cuamba (Bantamweight)

Mandel Nallo vs Nate Landwehr (Lightweight)

UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs Malott prelims

Tanner Boser vs Jhonata Diniz (Heavyweight)

Julien Leblanc vs Nick Galanti (Middleweight)

Javad Mahjoub vs Joel Faglier (Heavyweight)

Katlyn Cerminara vs Mackenzie Stiller (Women’s Flyweight)

Chad Anheliger vs Steven Koslow (Bantamweight)

Melissa Croden vs Chelsea Chandler (Women’s Bantamweight)

Cody Chovancek vs You Su-young (Bantamweight)

Joaquin Buckley: “New Mansa” looks to snap a two-fight skid

Joaquin Buckley (21-8) enters on back-to-back decision losses, after Kamaru Usman controlled him for most of their five-rounder and Sean Brady out-grappled him in May. Those defeats ended a six-fight win streak that included knockouts of Colby Covington and Stephen Thompson. The Wonderboy win is criminally underrated – Thompson may be past his prime, but he still has elite distance management, and knocking him out shows just how fast-twitch and powerful Buckley is. A predominantly southpaw striker with power in both hands, Buckley leaps into range with short punches, and his power carries late into fights. He was stopped several times at middleweight, but that durability issue has largely disappeared since his permanent move to 170.

Mike Malott: “Proper” carries Canada’s hopes into the main event

Mike Malott (14-2-1) failed the Neil Magny test in 2024, getting stopped in the third round in Toronto, but he’s improved in every dimension since. He’s on a four-fight win streak over Trevin Giles, Charles Radtke, Kevin Holland and, most recently, Gilbert Burns, whom he dropped twice before stopping him in the third round. All four wins came on Canadian soil, and he’s arguably Canada’s best active fighter alongside Gillian Robertson. Malott started as a striker first and a grappler second, and he’s a legit submission threat on the mat. He’s a smooth volume striker with decent accuracy who settles into fights, and his right hand is his most powerful weapon. His cardio issues look to be behind him.

Joaquin Buckley vs Mike Malott prediction

The blueprint against Buckley is obvious. Usman and Brady both took him down and kept him there, and Brady held him to just five significant strikes across three rounds. The question is whether Malott will follow it. He’s leaned more on his striking recently, and if he approaches this as a stand-up fight, that could be a costly decision.

On the feet, Malott is the more technical fighter, and he’ll likely find success tagging Buckley with straight shots, especially once he settles. But Buckley is simply too dangerous to trade with. Malott’s straight-line work leaves the door open for Buckley to explode in with a leaping hook, and that’s exactly how he caught Thompson.

If Malott wrestles, he has a much better chance, since the ground is where Buckley is most vulnerable. But we’ve seen so little offensive wrestling from Malott recently that it’s hard to bank on him changing his approach in front of his home crowd. Buckley’s power also carries into the championship rounds, so even if this goes long, the danger never goes away. Expect Buckley to find the knockout somewhere in the first three rounds.

Prediction: Joaquin Buckley to win by KO/TKO