UFC Edmonton Prelims: Croden, Boser Headline a Loaded Canadian Undercard

The UFC returns to Edmonton for the first time since 2024, and the prelim slate at Rogers Place on October 17 is stacked with Canadian names and fighters with something to prove. Six bouts open the Paramount+ broadcast at 5pm ET, led by No. 15 ranked bantamweight Melissa Croden and local heavyweight favorite Tanner Boser.

Croden (8-3) is the only ranked fighter on the undercard and she's chasing back-to-back wins after an impressive showing earlier this year. The Calgary native draws Chelsea Chandler (7-4), who's riding momentum of her own after a first-round submission of Priscila Cachoeira. Both women have two KOs and two submissions on their ledgers, so this one shouldn't go the distance quietly.

The Hometown Heavyweights

Boser (22-11-1) fights out of Edmonton and makes his second walk of 2026, this time against Brazil's Jhonata Diniz (9-2). It's the kind of crowd-pleasing matchup the card is built around — a veteran banger in front of his own people against a younger, hungrier striker.

The heavyweight division gets a jolt of fresh blood when Javad Mahjoub (5-0) meets Joel Faglier (6-0). Mahjoub, a Calgary-based fighter by way of Iran, carries a perfect record with three knockouts and a submission. Undefeated-versus-undefeated bookings rarely stay clean, and with eleven straight wins between them, someone's zero is going home.

Prospects and Debuts

Cody Chovancek opens the night at 9-0 (4 KO, 2 SUB), the Niagara Falls product looking to extend one of the more promising unbeaten runs in the bantamweight pipeline. He last stopped Raphael Uchegbu with punches in the third round. Standing across from him is the far more experienced SuYoung You (16-4, 2 NC), a test of whether Chovancek's hype survives a step up in opposition.

Middleweight Julien Leblanc (10-3) gets his shot at a first UFC win on Canadian soil against Contender Series graduate Nick Galanti (8-1), who makes his promotional debut after earning a contract in August. Debut nerves versus home-crowd pressure — pick your poison.

The flyweight division sees former title challenger Katlyn Cerminara (18-6) welcome newcomer Mackenzie Stiller (6-1) to the big stage. Cerminara's experience edge is enormous, but Stiller arrives with just one blemish on her record and nothing to lose.

Back From the Wilderness

The most intriguing comeback story belongs to bantamweight Chad Anheliger (13-8), who hasn't competed in 714 days. His opponent, Steven Koslow (6-1), has been gone even longer — 1,407 days since his last appearance. Ring rust is guaranteed; the question is who shakes it off faster. Anheliger is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Cody Gibson and badly needs a result.

For Croden, a win over Chandler keeps her climbing and could nudge her toward the back end of a crowded top 15. Chovancek and Mahjoub, meanwhile, are playing a different game entirely — protect the zero, build the brand, and let the finishes do the talking.

The prelims lead into a main event pitting welterweight knockout artist Joaquin Buckley against Canadian star Mike Malott. But if the undercard delivers the way the matchmaking suggests it might, plenty of fans will have burned through their energy before the lights even dim for the headliner.