At UFC 289, Mike Malott turned his first UFC appearance in his home country into his ascendence to the unofficial leader of the “Maple Leaf Militia,” standing as the week’s surprise star before hitting a second-round “club and sub” finish on Adam Fugitt. A couple months later in Toronto at UFC 297, Niagara Top Team’s Jasmine Jasudavicius kicked off the 5-fight winning streak she carries into this weekend’s tilt with Manon Fiorot.
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Last November in Edmonton, Charles Jourdain debuted at bantamweight, delivering an eye-opening effort and submitting Victor Henry, and in May at UFC 315 in Montreal, hometown boy Aiemann Zahabi had le Centre Bell chanting his name following his come-from-behind win over Brazilian legend José Aldo.
Who will be the breakout stars this weekend in Van City? Here are three potential candidates.
Charles Jourdain
Jourdain kicks things off in following nearly a full year on the sidelines as he closes out the prelims in a clash with British stalwart “Dangerous” Davey Grant.
The 29-year-old Jourdain is much more suited to life in the 135-pound ranks given that he’s not particularly big but has good athleticism and speed. He was outsized and outmuscled in many of his appearances at featherweight, but against an experienced and technical veteran in Henry, he looked right at home and controlled things all in phases before eventually locking up the submission finish.
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What stands out about Jourdain as he prepares to embark on his second appearance at bantamweight is his increased focus and maturity, which comes as a result of becoming a father and recognizing the opportunity before him. While he still likes to joke on social media, there is a greater seriousness to him when he speaks, and it feels like it comes from knowing he has a chance to make hay in his new surroundings.
It’s never been a question of talent for the Beloeil, Quebec-native, who is a dynamic striker and a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt with a nasty guillotine. Now that he’s dialled in mentally and facing the right opposition, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the French-Canadian string together a few wins and make a run towards the rankings.
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Grant is an outstanding litmus test; a battled tested veteran who has officially won four of his last five who could be on a 6-fight winning streak depending on your scoring of his split decision losses to Daniel Marcos and Adrian Yanez. The TUF 18 finalist is scrappy, difficult to stop, and capable of putting your lights out, so Jourdain will need to be quick and technical to avoid getting drawn into a dog fight on Saturday.
Beating Grant is no easy feat and as such, a win for Jourdain would go a long way to establishing him as someone to keep close tabs on in the ultra-competitive bantamweight ranks.
Azamat Bekoev
There have been some outstanding rookie campaigns put together inside the Octagon over the last few years. This year is no different with Bekoev looking to join Ateba Gautier as only the second UFC rookie with three wins in 2025 this weekend when he takes on Yousri Belgaroui.
The 29-year-old Russian debuted in January at UFC 311, mauling Zachary Reese and knocking him out with ground-and-pound from inside his. A touch under five months later, he ventured to Des Moines, Iowa, and dominated Ryan Loder, dispatching the recent TUF winner in just over half-a-round to collect his second straight first-round finish, his eighth consecutive win overall, and a Performance of the Night bonus for good measure.
Bekoev, who trains at American Top Team, is a throwback of sorts in that he’s just a brute who is strong everywhere, has heaps of experience, and is still young enough that he’s in the midst of his prime. As he’s shown through his first two UFC starts, he has the pressure and weapons to put you away early, but he can also go five rounds if needed as he showed in consecutive decision wins to claim the interim and undisputed LFA middleweight titles before getting the call to the UFC.
In Belgaroui, he faces a towering kickboxer aiming to make an impression after failing to secure a contract last season on Dana White’s Contender Series. The 33-year-old trains alongside former opponent and light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira and has gone 8-3 in 11 appearances since transitioning to MMA with each of those losses coming by decision.
Bekoev already looks the part of someone that is going to make some noise in the 185-pound weight, and another dominant showing this weekend would add to that impression. Middleweight is undergoing some changes at the moment, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Russian ATT representative get a “quicker-than-normal” push if he stacks up a couple more stoppages.
Melissa Croden
Let’s kick off this mini-profile of the debuting Canadian bantamweight by acknowledging that “Scare” is an outstanding choice of nom de pugilism for the 32-year-old Albertan because Melissa “Scare” Croden (Crow-den) sounds dope.
But the newcomer is much more than a terrific nickname.
Arriving in the UFC on a tidy 2-fight winning streak and sporting a 6-2 record overall, Croden has earned each of her six wins inside the distance and most recently dispatched Ashley Dean in the second round last October at LFA 195.
In addition to having beaten solid competition on the way up the ranks, Croden’s two losses are noteworthy as well. She dropped a split decision to Evelyn Martins in her third pro bout and a unanimous decision to Jacqueline Cavalcanti three fights later. The 23-year-old Martins is 6-1 overall and a rising star in a different promotion, while Cavalcanti earned a call to the Octagon off that victory and has continued running hot, posting four straight UFC wins to climb into the Top 15.
Though she’s earned the majority of her finishes by strikes, Croden is solid in the grappling department as well and could be an interesting addition to a bantamweight division in need of an influx of new talent.
Saturday’s bout with Tainara Lisboa is a good entry point as the Brazilian has garnered a pair of wins in three UFC appearances. That comfort and familiarity inside the Octagon can be a key piece in a matchup like this one. Although she landed on the wrong side of things last time out, it was her first fight in 19 months. Having now shaken off the rust, we could see a better version of the 34-year-old “Thai Panther” this weekend.
Bantamweight is one of the shallower divisions in the promotion, so it doesn’t take much to find yourself facing someone with a number next to their name. A quality outing to start off her UFC tenure will get Croden moving in the right direction. From there, another win or two and she could be battling for a place in the Top 15.
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