UFC Edmonton Prelims Deliver Nine Fights, Finish After Finish

October 17, 2026

EDMONTON — Preliminary cards are supposed to warm up a building. The prelims at UFC Fight Night 291 at Rogers Place on Saturday did something better: they gave Edmonton a full fight card's worth of finishes before the main card even started, with submissions and knockouts stacked across all nine preliminary bouts.

Chandler's kimura steals the prelims

The result that will travel furthest from the early card belongs to Chelsea Chandler. Facing Melissa Croden, who had been backed as a favorite as high as 4-to-1, Chandler ended the argument in the first round, submitting Croden with a kimura at 4:52 of Round 1. It was exactly the kind of win that changes how a fighter gets matched next: not a narrow decision over a favored opponent, but a first-round finish with a signature submission.

Chandler used the moment the way fighters are supposed to. Still in the Octagon, she called out Luana Santos by name, making clear the upset was not the ceiling of her ambitions for the night's work. Big underdog wins fade quickly in a sport with a show every week; big underdog wins with a name attached to the next fight tend to stick. Chandler made sure hers came with both.

Cerminara ends the wait

Katlyn Cerminara produced the other emotional high point of the prelims. Cerminara stopped Mackenzie Stiller by TKO at 4:46 of the first round, recording her first victory since 2022 and ending a long finish drought in the process. Stiller, who fell to 6-2, had taken the fight on short notice as a replacement opponent — the hardest assignment in the sport, against a veteran fighting like someone who knew exactly how long it had been since her last win. Cerminara's record moves to 19-6 in MMA and 12-6 in the UFC with the stoppage, and a first-round finish after that kind of layoff between wins is the sort of result that reopens doors a losing skid had been closing.

Finishes up and down the card

The rest of the prelims read like a finishes reel. SuYoung You closed his fight with Cody Chovancek by kimura at 4:19 of Round 3 — the second kimura of the card. Steven Koslow submitted Chad Anheliger with a rear-naked choke at 4:31 of the third round. Nick Galanti needed barely a minute and a half, finishing Julien Leblanc with a face crank at 1:26 of Round 1, and Timmy Cuamba submitted Louis Jourdain with a neck crank at 2:48 of Round 2.

The knockouts were just as emphatic. Tanner Boser stopped Jhonata Diniz by TKO at 4:26 of Round 3, closing the show late in a heavyweight fight. Mandel Nallo finished Nate Landwehr at 0:47 of Round 2, a stoppage built on a leg kick and follow-up punches that gave Landwehr no time to recover. And Joel Faglier authored the prelims' best comeback: knocked down twice in the first round by Javad Mahjoub, Faglier survived the round, regrouped, and finished Mahjoub by TKO at 2:11 of Round 2. Surviving two knockdowns and winning inside the distance a round later is the kind of line that follows a fighter's name for the rest of his career.

Full prelim results: SuYoung You def. Cody Chovancek, submission (kimura), R3 4:19; Chelsea Chandler def. Melissa Croden, submission (kimura), R1 4:52; Steven Koslow def. Chad Anheliger, submission (rear-naked choke), R3 4:31; Katlyn Cerminara def. Mackenzie Stiller, TKO, R1 4:46; Joel Faglier def. Javad Mahjoub, TKO, R2 2:11; Nick Galanti def. Julien Leblanc, submission (face crank), R1 1:26; Tanner Boser def. Jhonata Diniz, TKO, R3 4:26; Mandel Nallo def. Nate Landwehr, TKO, R2 0:47; Timmy Cuamba def. Louis Jourdain, submission (neck crank), R2 2:48.

Cards like this are why the prelims matter beyond the arena. For Chandler, a first-round submission of a heavily favored opponent is the kind of result that moves a fighter from the early card toward the ranked conversation. For Cerminara, a stoppage after four years without a win is career oxygen. For Faglier, surviving two knockdowns and finishing a round later is a highlight that will be replayed every time his name is announced. And for the Edmonton crowd, nine fights with barely a dull minute among them is the standard every future Fight Night in the building will be measured against.

Main card still to come

As the prelims wrapped, the main card was still ahead on Saturday night — these are upcoming fights, not results. The main event pairs Joaquin Buckley with Mike Malott at welterweight, and the co-main event sends Erin Blanchfield against Jasmine Jasudavicius at flyweight. Also on the main card: Kyle Nelson against Cristian Perez, and Marc-Andre Barriault against Kyle Daukaus. The prelims started at 5 p.m. ET with the main card following at 8 p.m. ET from Rogers Place.

Whatever the main card produces, it has a hard act to follow. Nine prelims, finish after finish, an upset with a callout, a veteran's first win in four years and a two-knockdown comeback — Edmonton got its money's worth before the headliners made a single walk. Stay with Previously for the main-card results and full fallout from UFC Fight Night 291, and follow every fighter through our sports hub.