Mike Malott delivered a Knockout of the Year candidate in the UFC Edmonton main event.

The Canadian welterweight contender finished Joaquin Buckley with a devastating knee at the 2:32 mark of the second round Saturday night at Rogers Place.

Mike Malott gets a HUGE knee-to-mouth knockout in R2!

#UFCEdmonton https://t.co/KCPZjt6Nof

— WinningPicksFREE (@WinningPicksDR) October 18, 2026

“I might be soft-spoken, but I’m f—–g hard-hitting,” Malott, a native of Waterdown, Ontario, said in his postfight interview.

He added: “I’m on top of the world right now. This is incredible. I asked my coaches, ‘That happened for real, right? I’m not about to wake up and it’s fight morning and I just dreamt that? This is real?'”

Malott and Buckley were ranked No. 13 and No. 10, respectively, in the 170-pound division coming in.

Malott is now riding a five-fight winning streak, including three inside the distance. The 34-year-old improved to 7-1 in the Octagon overall. His lone loss came against Neil Magny at UFC 297 in January 2024 in Toronto.

After passing the toughest test of his career with flying colors, Malott is due for another big fight.

“I see a lot of dangerous guys in the top 10, but I keep fighting better and better and more dangerous guys, and my performances keep getting better. So I think that climb is just gonna continue,” Malott said. “Somebody in the top 10 at the very least, maybe top five next. Let’s go.”

Buckley has dropped three in a row after back-to-back decision losses to Sean Brady and former champion Kamaru Usman over the last 16 months. The 32-year-old American suffered his first stoppage defeat since dropping down to welterweight from middleweight in 2023. Buckley hasn’t gotten his hand raised since facing Colby Covington in December 2024.

Malott’s knockout capped a night full of finishes in Edmonton. The event tied August’s UFC Belgrade for the most stoppages on a card in modern UFC history (12).

In the co-main event, Jasmine Jasudavicius scored an upset win over Erin Blanchfield, winning by unanimous decision in the lone fight to go the distance.