Top 5 Canadian Fighters with the Best Odds for a UFC title

Canadian UFC champions have been few and far between.

From Carlos Newton’s famous bulldog choke that saw him secure UFC gold against Pat Miletech in 2001 to Georges St. Pierre’s revenge KO of Matt Hughes to start his legendary title run in 2006, no other Canadian-born UFC fighter has reached the top of the mountain in MMA’s biggest promotion. Canadian fan-favorites and former title challengers such as Rory MacDonald and Patrick Cotè would come up short in their single bids for UFC gold but with that in the past, it’s time to look at the future for current Canadian fighters in the UFC.

Let’s get into the top five UFC fighters that have a chance to bring some gold back to great white north.

(#1) Hakeem Dawodu (12-2-1)

One of the hottest Canadian prospects to hit the UFC scene in recent memory is Calgary’s own Hakeem Dawodu.

Dawodu, who competes at featherweight, entered the UFC in 2018 after compiling a 7-0-1 record on the regional scene and had some debut butterflies as he got caught in a standing guillotine just 39-seconds into his UFC career en-route to a first-round submission loss to Danny Henry. Following his debut loss, Dawodu rattled off five consecutive victories over the likes of Austin Arnett, Kyle Bochniak, Yoshinori Horie, Julio Arce and Zubaira Tukhugov to setup a showdown with undefeated Russian super prospect Movsar Evloev this past June at UFC 261. Unfortunately for Dawodu, his five-fight win streak would come to a halt after being on the wrong side of a unanimous decision from the judges. Dawodu has a chance to get back on track when he faces TUF season 27 winner Mike Trizano in February 2022. If you’re an online betting person through leading sportsbooks, this is your best choice.

(#2) Gavin Tucker (13-2)

Next up on the list is another featherweight contender in the form of Newfoundland’s Gavin Tucker.

Tucker made his UFC debut in 2017, where he took a unanimous decision over veteran Sam Sicilia. Following his debut victory, Tucker was on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Ricky Glenn but got back on track with a three-fight win streak over Seung Woo Choi, Justin Jaynes and fan-favorite Billy Quarantillo before most recently being KO’d by top contender Dan Ige this past March. Tucker was slated to return to the octagon just two weeks ago at UFC Vegas 43 against Pat Sabatini but was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.

(#3) Marc-Andre Barriault (14-4)

Up next on the list is a man who hasn’t tasted defeat in over two years, Quebec’s own Marc-Andre Barriault.

The light heavyweight, turned middleweight contender joined the MMA leader in 2019 and was on the brink of being released from the promotion after dropping his first three fights in the UFC. With his UFC career on the line, Barriault KO’d Oscar Piechota in June 2020 but the win was overturned by NSAC due to Barriault testing positive for Ostarine. Following the no contest and a subsequent six-month suspension, Barriault would return to the octagon at UFC 260 this past March where he knocked out Abu Azatair and followed it up with a unanimous decision victory over Dalchas Lugiambula in September.

(#4) Gillian Robertson (9-6)

Next up on the list is quite possibly the most hyped female Canadian prospect in MMA history, Ontario’s own, flyweight Gillian Robertson.

‘The Savage’ joined the UFC in 2017 and immediately pulled off back-to-back submission victories over Emily Whitmire and Molly McMann in just a six-month span. Robertson’s momentum would be stymied when the tables were turned on her by Mayra Bueno Silva, who defeated her by submission. Robertson would quickly get back on track with back-to-back victories over Veronica Macedo and Sarah Frota before running into super prospect Maycee Barber, who knocked her out. However, Robertson would again answer the doubters and win back-to-back bouts over Cortney Casey and Poliana Botelho. Since the win over Botelho, Robertson has lost back-to-back fights for the first-time in her career against Taila Santos and most recently, Miranda Maverick this past March. Roberton looks to get back on track against Priscila Cachoeira at UFC 269, next week.

(#5) Tanner Boser (20-8-1)

Closing out the list is Edmonton’s favorite heavyweight, Tanner Boser.

The 30-year old heavyweight contender joined the UFC in 2019 and would be victorious in his promotional debut against Daniel Spitz but would quickly run into current Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cyril Gane. Following the hiccup against Gane, Boser would secure back-to-back KO wins over Philipe Lins and Raphael Pessoa. Boser would again have his momentum halted by former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski and would also drop his following contest against Ilir Latifi but most recently knocked out Ovince St. Preux this past June. Boser was set to compete at this weekend’s UFC Vegas 44 event against Sergei Pavlovich but the bout was nixed due to travel issues.

While there may be no GSP on the horizon for Canadian MMA, there are quite a few bright spots that could bring UFC gold back to the great white north in the not-so-distant future.

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