The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s long-overdue return to Edmonton, Alberta, on Saturday at Rogers Place carries a surprisingly deep slate of prelims for UFC Fight Night 246. The top two fights see two Canadian talents get major opportunities to prove themselves. Aiemann Zahabi’s slow rise through the bantamweight ranks leads him into his toughest test yet against Pedro Munhoz, while Jasmine Jasudavicius looks to establish a new ceiling for herself in the women’s flyweight division at the expense of Ariane Lipski. There is some intrigue elsewhere, whether it’s Charles Jourdain’s cut down to bantamweight to face Victor Henry, a battle of heavyweight wrestlers between Alexander Romanov and Rodrigo Nascimento or one of the best bouts on the entire card matching Jack Shore with Youssef Zalal at 145 pounds. Add in some well-booked and potentially entertaining bouts further down the draw, and this figures to be a strong show from top to bottom.
Bantamweights
Aiemann Zahabi (11-2, 5-2 UFC) vs. Pedro Munhoz (20-9, 10-9 UFC)ODDS: Zahabi (-115), Munhoz (-105)
It has gone under the radar, but Zahabi’s career turnaround has been an impressive bit of business. The younger brother of famed coach Firas Zahabi, he has turned his grab bag of a style from a weakness into a strength. While he was often just getting outworked near the start of his UFC career, he eventually learned to pick his spots enough that he scored quick knockouts over Drako Rodriguez and Qileng Aori. Heading into 2024, it was a bit hard to tell exactly how real those gains were. Zahabi has been quite inactive, with this marking the first time since 2017 he has fought twice in a calendar year, and his three fight-winning streak consisted of those two quick finishes and a decision win over Ricky Turcios. However, Zahabi proved himself as someone to watch in March with an upset win over Javid Basharat, putting together three consistent rounds and stringing together the best pace of his UFC career to upend a much more highly regarded prospect. At 36 years old, it’s now or never for Zahabi to make a charge towards whatever success he’s going to enjoy, so it’s nice to see him back in action after only a few months. He gets a step up in competition against Munhoz.
Munhoz has had little success in terms of wins and losses over the last few years, but that underrates what “The Young Punisher” has done against a strong level of competition. Up until a few years ago, Munhoz had a fairly clear approach, leaning on an iron chin to march forward and eat damage, sometimes overwhelming his opponents with striking offense but often attempting to lure them into shooting for takedowns, at which point he could unleash one of the best guillotine chokes in the game. It was simple but effective, to the point that Munhoz got on the fringes of the title picture before hitting a clear ceiling. The elite of the division had Munhoz scouted well, outmaneuvering him and generally forcing him to unsuccessfully chase down his opponents over three—or five—rounds. Now in 2024, Munhoz fights behind much the same approach, though he has done well to at least show some strategic patience at times, most notably frustrating Sean O’Malley in 2022 until their fight ended in a no contest. Even in his late 30s, Munhoz is still stout enough to go toe-to-toe with the best of the division, as most felt he deserved the decision in the win that earned Marlon Vera a title shot in August 2023. The combination of that fight going against Munhoz and his last bout, a middling performance against top-flight athlete Kyler Phillips, have left him as a bit of an afterthought in such a deep division, but he should still be up to the challenge here. This career-best version of Zahabi might be able to hang with him every step of the way, but Munhoz’s dedication and durability still get the benefit of the doubt, particularly against what might be his biggest step back in competition—on paper, at least—in about half a decade. The pick is Munhoz via decision.
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Zahabi vs. Munhoz
Jasudavicius vs. Lipski
Jourdain vs. Henry
Zalal vs. Shore
Nascimento vs. Romanov
Sidey vs. Armfield
Gibson vs. Anheliger
Horth vs. Petrovic