Blanchfield vs. Jasudavicius Could Steal UFC Edmonton—and Reshape the Title Race
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Joaquin Buckley and Mike Malott have the five-round main event, but the fight with the clearest championship consequences at UFC Edmonton may happen one bout earlier.
Erin Blanchfield and Jasmine Jasudavicius meet in Saturday’s co-main event at Rogers Place with both women treating the matchup as a gateway to the UFC women’s flyweight title. The promotion has not formally promised either fighter the next shot, which makes the stakes more interesting rather than less: winning matters, but the manner of victory may decide whether the winner can separate herself from a crowded contender line.
It is one of three UFC Edmonton fights built around a different kind of pressure. Blanchfield and Jasudavicius are trying to force a championship decision. Malott is trying to become Canada’s next top-10 welterweight while Buckley attempts to stop a two-fight slide. Mandel Nallo and Nate Landwehr, meanwhile, are matched in a lightweight fight where caution has rarely survived the opening exchange.
The Co-Main Event May Have the Biggest Long-Term Stakes
Blanchfield enters at 14-2 overall and 8-1 in the UFC. She followed her 2024 decision loss to Manon Fiorot by beating Rose Namajunas in Edmonton and then submitting Tracy Cortez in New York. The loss to Fiorot slowed her first title push, but it did not remove her from the elite of the division.
Jasudavicius arrives at 15-4 after rebuilding from her own loss to Fiorot. The Canadian had a five-fight winning streak stopped last October, then returned with a more measured decision victory over Karine Silva in April. She now gets the opportunity to defeat a highly ranked contender in front of a Canadian crowd.
Both fighters have publicly framed the bout as a potential title eliminator. Jasudavicius told reporters she believes the winner should expect a championship opportunity. Blanchfield has been more careful, acknowledging that the UFC has promised her nothing while arguing that an impressive victory would leave her in a powerful position.
That distinction matters. Natalia Silva holds the championship, but the queue behind her is not settled. Former champion Valentina Shevchenko remains part of the wider title picture, and Alexa Grasso strengthened her position with a recent win over Fiorot. A narrow decision on Saturday may keep the winner in the conversation; a decisive finish could make her much harder to bypass.
Blanchfield’s Problem: Winning May Not Be Enough
Blanchfield is the more established contender, which creates an unusual burden. She is expected to win, so simply surviving a close fight may not change her standing very much. To turn Edmonton into a clear title argument, she needs to show that her grappling can control a larger opponent without forcing her striking into the background.
Jasudavicius is three inches taller and has built much of her UFC success on pace, physical pressure and a willingness to make opponents work through uncomfortable positions. Blanchfield’s best performances have come when she creates layered attacks: pressure on the feet, entries along the fence and rapid transitions once the fight reaches the floor.
The tactical question is not merely who can score a takedown. It is who can win the scramble that follows. Jasudavicius believes she can make Blanchfield wrestle after feeling her power. Blanchfield has countered that she expects to be the superior scrambler regardless of who initiates the grappling.
There is also a personal edge without the need to manufacture a feud. Jasudavicius previously defeated Fatima Kline, Blanchfield’s teammate and close friend. That result does not determine Saturday’s matchup, but it gives Blanchfield first-hand information about how Jasudavicius handles a skilled grappler—and gives Jasudavicius proof that she can disrupt the plans of Blanchfield’s camp.
Jasudavicius Has the Bigger Opportunity
For Jasudavicius, a win would change how the division has to discuss her. She would no longer be a durable Canadian contender working toward the front of the line; she would own a victory over one of the division’s most consistently successful fighters.
She also has a ready-made championship story. Jasudavicius faced Silva in the Brazilian champion’s UFC debut in 2022 and lost a decision. Jasudavicius has said she would welcome the opportunity to apply what she now understands about Silva’s style. That history would make a rematch easy to explain if she first defeats Blanchfield.
The danger is allowing the Edmonton crowd to accelerate the fight. Jasudavicius thrives on intensity, but Blanchfield is at her best when an opponent gives her predictable forward movement to counter with clinches and transitions. Home support can create momentum; it can also tempt a fighter to chase a moment that is not there.
Buckley vs. Malott: One Fighter Rising, One Fighting to Hold Position
The welterweight main event reverses the pressure dynamic. Malott has won four straight and is coming off a third-round stoppage of Gilbert Burns. Buckley began his welterweight run with six consecutive victories, but Sean Brady and Kamaru Usman both used sustained grappling control to hand him back-to-back defeats.
Malott does not have to imitate Brady or Usman perfectly. He only needs to make Buckley account for the takedown often enough to reduce the American’s explosiveness. Buckley remains the more frightening one-strike threat, and giving him clean space for 25 minutes is a dangerous plan.
The engagement question is simple: does Malott’s four-fight run mean he is ready for the top 10, or has the matchup been designed to test whether he can exploit the same weakness Buckley’s last two opponents found?
Nallo vs. Landwehr: The Fight Most Likely to Reject a Game Plan
Mandel Nallo against Nate Landwehr opens the main card and may be the evening’s purest action fight. Nallo is 14-4 with one no contest, and every professional appearance has ended inside the distance. His UFC debut against Jai Herbert started well before Nallo pursued the finish too aggressively and was stopped in the first round.
Landwehr moves to lightweight after 26 fights at featherweight. The 38-year-old has lost three straight and was finished in each defeat, but his willingness to exchange has also made him a reliable bonus contender. He says the move to 155 pounds produced a healthier camp and allowed him to focus more on fighting than surviving the cut.
That creates a fight between two men who know exactly why restraint would help—and whose careers suggest they may ignore that knowledge as soon as they are hit.
Three Questions for UFC Edmonton
- Does the co-main winner deserve the next title shot? A finish would make the strongest case, but the division’s existing queue means nothing is automatic.
- Is Malott a genuine top-10 welterweight? Buckley is the right opponent to answer that without handing Malott an easy path.
- Can Nallo or Landwehr stay disciplined? Their stated plans say yes; their fight histories suggest viewers should be seated before the opening bell.
UFC Edmonton begins at 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+, with the six-fight main card scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Blanchfield versus Jasudavicius is officially the co-main event. In terms of what tonight could change, it may be the most important fight on the card.
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