Canadian content will be in full force at the UFC Apex on Saturday as three Canadians – Misha Cirkunov, Gavin Tucker and Charles Jourdain –hit the Octagon on a night headlined by the long-awaited return of Leon Edwards as he faces Belal Muhammad in the main event in Las Vegas.

Catch UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad at 6pm et/3pm pt on TSN5 and TSN Direct.

Light heavyweight Cirkunov fights for the first time in a year and a half as he faces American Ryan Spann in Saturday’s co-main event.

The pair were originally scheduled to meet in December, but the Canadian was forced out of that fight with an injury.

“I’m just happy that I’m healthy now and I can fight,” Cirkunov told TSN. “Ryan Spann is a great fighter and it’s a great opportunity for me to highlight my skills and move up the rankings.”

Cirkunov, the 11th-ranked fighter in the division, will be looking for his second win in a row when he takes on the No. 13-ranked Spann. The 34-year-old Canadian submitted Jimmy Crute in his last fight back in September of 2019.

He captured his first four UFC fights before suffering a loss and currently holds a 6-3 record in the promotion.

Spann enters the co-main event bout off a loss to Johnny Walker last September. Prior to that setback, the 29-year-old was riding an eight-fight winning streak.

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Gavin Tucker is currently unranked in the featherweight division, but a short-notice fight against the ninth-ranked Dan Ige could change his fortunes in a hurry.

The 34-year-old Canadian enters the bout on a three-fight winning streak including victories over Seung Woo Choi, Justin Jaynes and most recently over Billy Quarantillo at UFC 256.

Those wins came off the back of the only loss of his professional MMA career, he has a 13-1 overall record.

Ige, who was originally scheduled to face Ryan Hall, comes in off a loss to Calvin Kattar in a Fight Night main event bout last July.

The 29-year-old earned his headlining spot with six straight victories, with a split decision win over Edson Barboza capping off the streak.

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Canadian Charles Jourdain has a loss and a draw in his last two outings and will be looking for a victory against promotional newcomer Marcelo Rojo.

The Montreal native fought Josh Culibao to a draw the last time he was in the Octagon in October. 

Heading into Saturday’s bout, the 25-year-old plans to forget about making any headlines and just focus on the task in front of him to get back into the win column.

“In this fight, it doesn’t matter who I’m fighting.  He’s good, he’s in the UFC, he’s dangerous and I need to fight,” Jourdain told TSN.  “All of this, ‘I need to impress’, ‘I need to finish with a flying knee’, ‘I need to be spectacular’.  I don’t need anything, I need to fight.  When I’m in that zone, I perform amazingly.”

Jourdain earned a victory over Doo Ho Choi in December of 2019 at Fight Night in Busan, South Korea.

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The main event will be a key battle in the welterweight division as Leon Edwards fights for the first time since July of 2019 against Belal Muhammad.

Edwards was originally scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev to close the card, but he was forced to withdraw as he continues to battle the effects of COVID-19.

The Birmingham, England fighter has won eight straight bouts and is currently the No. 3-ranked contender at welterweight.

A victory in this main event bout could be enough to propel Edwards into a title fight with champion Kamaru Usman.

Standing in his way, however, will be Muhammad, who last fought in February when he earned a unanimous decision victory over Dhiego Lima at UFC 258.

The 32-year-old has won four fights in a row.​