The UFC has competitors from all over the world, including Canada. Here are 10 of the finest Canadian UFC fighters in history.
We begin our rundown of the top Canadian fighters to grace the UFC with none other than Alexis Davis, who was inspired by martial arts films from a young age. Come 2007, she made her debut at UCW 7: Anarchy, losing out to Sarah Kaufman (who features on this list later). In December of that year, Davis and Valérie Létourneau fought in the second bout of TKO history at TKO 31: Young Guns and it was Davis who took the win.
In 2009 Davis became Raging Wolf Women’s Flyweight Champion when she beat Molly Helsel at Raging Wolf 5: Mayhem In The Mist, and defended the title the following year against Tonya Evinger. Three years down the line she joined UFC and defeated Rosi Sexton in her first bout. Davis enjoyed more wins until she ran into Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey. Throughout her MMA career she won 21 of 32 bouts.
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Joe Doerksen’s MMA career lasted over a decade and saw him compete in multiple competitions, including UFC. His first fights were in 1999 when he beat three men on the bounce at the first Bas Rutten Invitational before losing out to Eugene Jackson (who brought plenty of UFC experience to the table). His UFC debut was in 2004 at UFC 49, in which he lost via submission to Joe Riggs, but Doerksen did manage to win his second bout, against the highly regarded Patrick Côté (who appears later on this list).
Doerksen had a yo-yo relationship with the UFC, leaving, returning, leaving again, and returning again. After five wins in a row in World Victory Road he came back to the UFC for the final time and defeated Tom Lawlor in a hard-fought match, but after a couple of defeats, he retired for good.
TJ Grant was born in Halifax (Nova Scotia), and even before signing up to UFC had compiled an impressive 13-2 track record. His UFC 97 debut was notable for a surprise victory over Ryo Chonan before losing out to Dong Hyun Kim at his second bout in UFC 100. A roughly even split of wins and losses followed until he dropped down to Lightweight. This saw Grant rack up an impressive series of consecutive wins, including a Knockout of the Night victory over UFC #3 Lightweight Contender Gray Maynard. Unfortunately, injury prevented Grant from his shot at UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson. Ongoing injury (and debt) concerns meant he didn’t fight again.
One of the best ever UFC fighters to come from Canada, Denis Kang moved there with his family (as a child). Early martial arts training saw him enter the 1998 Ultimate Warrior Challenge, with an even split of victories and defeats. Winning and retaining the Spirit MC Heavyweight Championship, Kang defeated UFC veteran Marvin Eastman in under a minute at Raw Combat: Redemption.
This paved the way for his entry to UFC, though he lost his first bout (in which he competed despite suffering an ankle injury). Kang’s second bout versus Xavier Foupa-Pokam saw him win. His third bout against Michael Bisping was a fantastically engaging and competitive fight, which Kang lost (though he did pick up a $40k Fight of the Night check).
Initially a dancer, Kaufman moved into aerobics kickboxing and then Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She made history competing in the first female MMA fight in TKO history at TKO 29 and defeated Valérie Létourneau into the bargain. Kaufman followed this up by winning and retaining the Hardcore Championship Fighting Women’s Bantamweight Championship (and never lost it as the promotion ended in 2008). In Strikeforce, her unbeaten run continued with victories over Miesha Tate and Shayna Baszler.
Kaufman’s debut in UFC came in 2013 and she controversially (and narrowly) lost to Jessica Eye in her first bout (the result changing to no decision after Eye failed a drug test). Her next fight was against Leslie Smith, and Kaufman won. A year’s hiatus may have led to her next defeat, versus Alexis Davis and after losing to Valentina Shevchenko the UFC let Kaufman go.
Hailing from Quebec, Patrick Côté fought 21 bouts in the UFC. His first was on very short notice against the formidable Tito Ortiz, and while Côté lost by unanimous decision his performance was impressive. After a couple more defeats he starred in The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback and reached the finale, losing out to Travis Lutter. So far, so much defeat.
But Côté got the better of Scott Smith in his next bout, and followed this up with a first-round TKO against Kendall Grove. Drew McFedries and Ricardo Almeida were next up, and both lost to the Canadian. At UFC 90, Côté faced UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and while Côté did lose he was the first man to face Silva and reach the third round.
Mark Hominick is now retired but was once a force to be reckoned with in the Featherweight division of UFC. His start at UFC was great, defeating Yves Edwards in the second round and following this up with a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Gurgel. After this, Hominick took a break from the UFC to compete in World Extreme Cagefighting, losing his first couple of bouts before developing a winning streak.
Hominick rejoined UFC when it merged with WEC, and took a first-round win over former training partner George Roop. At UFC 129 he narrowly lost to UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo in the Fight of the Night, beginning a series of defeats that led him to retire in 2012.
Carlos Newton is one of Canada’s most successful UFC fighters and is known as the Ronin. Formerly the UFC Welterweight Champion, Newton’s fighting technique consisted of various martial arts melded together, and at one stage he even competed in UFC and Pride FC at the same time.
Newton’s career highlight was winning the UFC Welterweight Championship against Pat Miletich in 2001, but this shining moment of glory was bright but brief. His first attempt to defend his title saw a loss to Matt Hughes in bizarre circumstances. Both men ended up unconscious, but the ref only saw that Newton was, meaning Hughes was awarded the victory (and the title) while utterly oblivious of what was happening.
During his prolific career, Rory MacDonald has competed in UFC, Bellator MMA, and the PFL. While fighting in the UFC he achieved a strong record of 9-4, and when he first entered the UFC he had put together a nine-fight winning streak (with zero losses in his professional career).
This continued with MacDonald’s UFC debut, which saw him win against Mike Guymon by first round submission. A mix of wins and defeats followed, as did a share of injuries that put paid to scheduled fights. One of his best victories was a Fight of the Night win versus Demian Maia at UFC 170 (the fight was nearly canceled after MacDonald cut himself by accident while preparing an avocado).
An easy pick for top of the list is the legendary Georges St. Pierre, easily Canada’s finest UFC fighter of all time. Unusually, he managed to win titles at multiple weights (welterweight and middleweight divisions) and in 28 martial arts bouts won 26 of them.
St. Pierre’s UFC debut saw him start as he meant to go on, beating the much-fancied Karo Parisyan by unanimous decision. A rare defeat came after his first two wins when he tapped out to Matt Hughes in a battle for the Welterweight Championship. Numerous successes followed and he got another shot at the title, facing Hughes at UFC 65 and winning by TKO. He lost the title in his second (and last) defeat, this time to Matt Serra. St. Pierre’s record speaks for itself, and he’s one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time. Occasionally he even thinks of returning (although it probably won’t happen).
And that wraps up our look at 10 of the best Canadian fighters in the history of the UFC.
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