Canada has long been a consistent hotbed of MMA talent outside the United States, having produced arguably the greatest fighter of all time in Georges St. Pierre. At UFC 297 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, we will see the next generation of Canadian hopefuls compete in front of their home crowd.

UFC 297 is headlined by two title fights, with UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland defending his title against Dricus du Plessis and Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva competing for the vacant UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship.

But outside of those two fights, every single bout features a Canadian. The last time the UFC was in Canada was UFC 289 last June, headlined by WMMA GOAT Amanda Nunes’ retirement fight. At UFC 289, every Canadian on the card came out victorious.

Across the UFC 297 preliminary card, Gillian Robertson, Yohan Lainesse, Jasmine Jasudavicius, and Malcolm Gordon represent Canada in their respective bouts. Here are the other big names leading the next generation of Canadian MMA.

Mike Malott

Up first is Mike Malott, the man the UFC seems to be pushing as the new face of Canadian MMA. Despite being unranked, Malott has been placed right before the co-main event. He faces UFC veteran Neil Magny with an opportunity to surge into the Welterweight rankings on the line.

Malott earned his place on the UFC roster in 2021 with a victory on Dana White’s Contender Series. Since then, Malott has secured three wins under the UFC banner, with two submissions and a knockout, establishing himself as a prospect to watch in the Welterweight division.

Across from Malott is the most experienced man in UFC Welterweight division history, Neil Magny, coming from a dominant decision loss to Ian Machado Garry at UFC 292. Magny has long been a test for up-and-coming fighters, with a win against him earning a spot in the rankings. Malott gets that opportunity this weekend at UFC 297.

Marc-Andre Barriault

Before Malott’s rise in the UFC, the man leading the way for Canada was Marc-Andre Barriault. Despite going winless in his first four UFC bouts, Barriault established himself as an exciting fighter in the Middleweight division, with an unrelenting, aggressive style that wears down his opponents.

His last two fights against Julian Marquez and Eryk Anders have been impressive wins. At UFC 297, he faces #14-ranked Chris Curtis, who has only won one of his last four fights. If victorious in front of his home crowd this weekend, Barriault will also surge straight into the top 15 of his division.

Charles Jourdain

The other man who has represented alongside Barriault is exciting Canadian Featherweight Charles Jourdain, who has become a fan-favourite with his aggressive striking style. Jourdain has fought an impressive 12 times since making his UFC debut in 2019, only losing against some of the best fighters in the division, including Nathaniel Wood and Shane Burgos.

In his last two bouts, Jourdain has secured impressive wins over Kron Gracie and Ricardo Ramos, including a first-round submission of Ramos. If Jourdain can make it three wins on the trot, he will be in a strong position to make 2024 the best year of his career. But he faces a tough test against highly-touted prospect Sean Woodson at UFC 297.

Serhiy Sidey

The lone Canadian debutant on the card is 27-year-old Serhiy Sidey, who earned his UFC contract on Week 5 of DWCS 2023 in somewhat dubious circumstances against Ramon Taveras. He rematches Taveras this weekend at UFC 297 under the UFC banner.

In their first fight, Sidey won via a clearly early stoppage, with Taveras still defending himself. Despite the stoppage, Sidey was handed a UFC contract. Taveras was given another shot in Week 10 of DWCS and won that fight via first-round knockout to earn his contract.

That sets up an exciting rematch between two exciting prospects. For Sidey, it comes in the perfect environment: a UFC PPV in his home country. A win this weekend at UFC 297 will cement Sidey as a Canadian to watch in the UFC.

Arnold Allen and Brad Katona

The card’s last two “Canadian” reps, Arnold Allen and Brad Katona, are arguably the best of the bunch. Both men proudly represent Canadian MMA alongside their respective other nations, England and Ireland.

Allen has had a long relationship with the acclaimed Tristar Gym and Head Coach Firas Zahabi, making him a quasi-Canadian. He will look to bounce back from the first UFC loss of his career, a decision loss to former Champ Max Holloway last April, against undefeated Russian Movsar Evloev.

Katona was born and raised in Canada but moved to Ireland in 2017 to train full-time under SBG Ireland’s Head Coach, John Kavanagh. Katona makes his remarkable return to the UFC roster, becoming the first man to win The Ultimate Fighter twice after beating Cody Gibson at UFC 292 last August.