\n<\/p>\n
Joel Faglier walked into UFC Edmonton on Saturday night with more than a victory on his mind.<\/p>\n
After losing his son last August, Faglier made a promise to honor him inside the Octagon. Standing across from Javad Mahjoub, he knew the hometown favorite would bring plenty of pressure. Faglier weathered the early storm, stuck to his game plan, and walked away with an emotional victory. For Faglier, this wasn\u2019t just another win. It was a promise kept.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took this fight on like two-and-a-half weeks notice. I was overseas, and when we got the call we said yes of course,\u201d Faglier told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew we had a lot of work to do when we got back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Faglier knew Mahjoub would come out swinging, especially with the hometown crowd behind him at UFC Edmonton. His plan was simple, survive the early storm, let Mahjoub burn through his energy, and take over late.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust watching his film knowing that he was a very strong judo player. We knew that he was going to start hard, throw everything with big bad intentions. As long as we weathered that storm early, I figured he\u2019d come out really juiced from the fans, that\u2019d tax his body. Wait him out second round, third round\u2019s going to be mine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Faglier\u2019s victory at UFC Edmonton meant far more than another win inside the Octagon. After losing his son in August 2025, he stepped into the cage carrying a promise to honor his memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever been through in my life. August 20th, 2025, we lost him at 25 weeks. He was stillborn. It was hard that he didn\u2019t get the life that a father always expects to give to his son,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I get this time, I thought I was passing on the name and in a way I did, but tonight\u2026I told him when I laid him down I\u2019m going to do something special for us. You didn\u2019t get to live a great life although you had the greatest time with your mother, I\u2019m going to do something special for us.\u201d<\/p>\n