The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 151: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy

#2 Worst: What’s happened to Canadian MMA?

Brad Katona was just one of the Canadian fighters who lost on last night's card

Around a decade ago – when Georges St-Pierre was the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA and other Canadian fighters like Patrick Cote, Rory MacDonald and Sam Stout were making waves in the UFC – Canada seemed like a true hotbed for MMA, one that the UFC could rely on for talent for years to come. In 2019 though, that appears to be changing somewhat.

There were 7 fights on this card involving Canadians against fighters hailing from other countries, and only one Canadian – Arjan Bhullar – pulled out the win. And even that was a controversial decision that most fans thought should’ve gone to his opponent Juan Adams.

Elsewhere Kyle Nelson, Aiemann Zahabi, Sarah Moras, Marc-Andre Barriault, Brad Katona and Elias Theodorou were all well beaten, and only Barriault really gave a decent showing.

Quite what’s gone wrong is hard to say given Montreal’s Tri-Star MMA camp is still highly regarded thanks to the skills of head trainer Firas Zahabi. But right now it feels like the current generation of Canadian fighters are lagging way behind the generation before them, and that’s sad.