You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!
This past weekend (Saturday, October 17, 2026), seven rookies stepped into the Octagon UFC Edmonton Inside Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Collectively, the rookies went 3-4 with a couple of impressive finishes and several downright terrible performances.
Now that the dust has settled, we rate their respective debuts below:
One month after signing the UFC contract Contender series with a brutal knockoutMexico’s Christian Perez another messy finish followed.
And it only took 27 seconds.
After an odd opening to the fight with an Imanari roll, Perez flashed Kyle Nelson and ran right through him, knocking the Canadian unconscious in less than 30 seconds (watch the highlights).
Perez is legit and has been one of the top prospects outside of the UFC for several years. Unfortunately, he was previously locked into a contract with Combate Global, which kept him out for nearly a year.
When Perez was finally released, he was given the opportunity to move on Season 9 Contender series. He seemed to be winning his fight until Manoel Sousa scored a comeback knockout.
Perez returned to the show a year later, earned a contract and has now made an immediate impact in the Octagon.
The 27-year-old is a fantastic and exciting kickboxer with legitimate striking power and very good grappling. He owns an 82 percent finish rate, eight knockouts and seven submissions.
Perez has all the tools to finally break into the Top 15. The only problem is, he competes in arguably the best division in the entire sport.
Would like to see him fight Jai Herbert in his second UFC appearance.
A highly anticipated debut Louis Jourdainthe younger brother of the longtime UFC veteran Charles Jourdaindid not go as planned Timmy Cuamba.
Jourdain briefly showed off some of his crafty kicks, but Cuamba exposed his fight and eventually floored him before submitting for the second round.
There’s no skating around it: Jourdain’s debut was a huge disappointment.
Was it a UFC shakeup? The ring rusted after he was laid off Contender series? Size difference?
Who knows what the problem was, he must be much better in his second appearance.
It’s worth remembering that Charles also lost in his UFC debut before going on to build a respectable promotion career. One ugly performance doesn’t necessarily mean Louis is doomed.
Personally, I’d like to see him try to return to Flyweight, although that weight cut may become more and more difficult as he gets older.
Jourdain against Otari Tanzilovwho just slept Malcolm Wellmakersounds like a fun throwback game.
Stepped down on short notice about two months after earning his UFC contract in Week 3 Contender series, Nick Galanti facing Julien Leblanc – and made it look easy.
Galanti secured the takedown in 15 seconds. Leblanc briefly got to his feet, but only for a moment as Galanti pulled him back to the canvas, dismounted and finished him off with a face crank (watch the highlights).
It was a thoroughly dominant debut.
Now, Leblanc might be one of the worst fighters on the UFC roster right now, so we should probably pump the brakes a little. Nevertheless, Galanti showed its breakout power Contender series and then showcased his wrestling in Edmonton.
The 28-year-old is an extremely entertaining fighter who actively chases finishes, but has also shown that he can compete for a full 15 minutes if needed.
Galanti is an entertaining addition to the ever-growing UFC middleweight division.
Jackson McVey sounds like a fun and violent second opponent.
Joel Faglier and Javad Mahjoub
It was the definition of a two-round story.
Javad Mahjoub hit the brakes Joel Faglier in the opening round, connecting with clubs overhands, hooks, knees and one-two combinations — the whole shebang.
Mahjoub knocked down Faglieri twice and outscored him 46:19 in important strikes. Two judges even gave Mahjoub a 10-8 round.
Unfortunately for Mahjoub, he completely and utterly drained his gas tank.
By the second round he looked like he was on the verge of death from exhaustion.
Faglier took full advantage, unloading leg kicks and straight punches on his exhausted opponent. About two minutes into the round, Faglier connected with a standing elbow and a left hook to the body that hurt Mahjoub badly.
Faglier then basically threw him to the canvas and ended the fight with hammer fists (watch the highlights).
It was a fantastic comeback from Faglieri, who survived a complete ass-kicking before storming out and taking over.
He remains sloppy at times, but also showed enough technical ability to remain interesting. I have absolutely no idea how his UFC career will pan out, but I’m willing to watch because he proved he’s got the dog.
Faglier can fight Guilherme Pat next.
As for Mahjoub, he looked like a killer for the opening five minutes before suffering one of the worst cardio collapses you’ll ever see.
Maybe we should have seen this coming. Four of Mahjoub’s five professional wins have come in the first round, and all of his fight wins have also been secured in the opening frame.
If he doesn’t fix his gas tank, he goes 0-4 and gets cut.
Give it to him Marcus Buchecha next.
Mackenzie Stilleranother failed actor The ultimate fighter (TUF) 33, stepped up on short notice to face the former Flyweight title challenger Katlyn Cerminara.
Cerminara failed to register a finish in 17 previous UFC appearances. She eventually secured her top spot by knocking out Stiller – despite entering the game after a two-year hiatus following childbirth.
Not much positive to say here.
Stiller tried to pressure Cerminara and bring the fight to him, but he was consistently broken up before suffering a stoppage.
The only credit I give Stiller is that he took the fight on short notice and competed one weight class above his natural division.
Stiller has a fun personality, but is he a UFC caliber fighter?
It sure didn’t look like it in Edmonton.
He can fight Marina Spasic next.
Almost a year after earning a UFC contract in Season 9 Contender series, Cody Chovancek against finally made his advertising debut Su-young Yoo.
It was a very long night for the Canadian.
The match opened UFC Edmonton and credit to the fans at Rogers Place for not rushing both fighters out of the building because it was brutal to watch.
Yoo basically controlled Chovancek for three rounds before finally giving him a kimura (watch the highlights).
It was a terrible viewing experience and a terrible sight for Chovancek, who had nothing to offer against Yoo’s fight.
I’ve never thought highly of Chovancek, and I didn’t think he deserved the UFC contract when he earned it. After watching him get completely dominated by Yoo, it’s hard to imagine him having a particularly bright future in the Octagon.
He can fight Ricky Turcios in his second UFC appearance.
Click for full results, coverage and highlights from UFC Edmonton HERE.
