Who to watch: BFL 88
This Thursday, live on UFC Fight Pass, Battlefield Fight League returns to Vancouver for BFL 88. The card features two title fights, several undefeated fighters, and a number of names worth watching as they continue their climb through the Canadian MMA scene. Here are the four fighters I’ll be watching most closely.
Featherweight: Radley Da Silva (9-1)
Radley Da Silva might be the most controversial MMA athlete on the Canadian scene right now. The BFL featherweight and lightweight champion has won seven straight fights, with his only professional loss coming back in 2013. Since then, Da Silva has consistently taken on increasingly difficult competition and found ways to win.
Nevertheless, MMA fans turned on him following his unanimous decision over George Mangos on Contender Series in 2025, which was one of the most boring fights on the show. Da Silva controlled most of the bout on the ground while doing a good job of evading Mangos’ submission attempts. The UFC clearly wasn’t impressed enough to offer him a contract, while Mangos was later invited to Road to UFC.
DWCS aside, his recent run is particularly impressive. Da Silva submitted Caleb Moctezuma at BFL 80, knocked out the previously undefeated Drake Randall with a spinning heel kick at BFL 81, submitted veteran Drew Brokenshire at BFL 82, and most recently stopped Rander Junio with punches in the first round.
Da Silva is at his best when he can mix his striking with his grappling. He has legitimate finishing ability in both areas, with three submission wins and two knockouts on his professional record. More importantly, he has shown that he can compete against experienced opponents and adjust his game plan depending on the matchup.
Now he gets another opportunity to find a highlight-reel finish against Argentina’s Lucas Corbage. Corbage brings a 13-4 record into the matchup and represents another experienced test for Da Silva. Recently signed to Iridium Sports Agency for management, Da Silva is hoping that another finish can finally put his Contender Series performance in the rearview mirror and potentially earn him a late call-up for UFC Edmonton.
Flyweight: Erfan Ahangarian (5-1)
Erfan Ahangarian is another fighter who has made serious progress since suffering the first loss of his professional career. After dropping a majority decision to Aso Palani at BFL 81, Ahangarian has won five straight.
Ahangarian comes from a Sanda background, and you can definitely see it in his MMA game. There’s a certain unpredictability to his striking, and he’s clearly comfortable throwing techniques that you don’t always see from more traditional MMA fighters.
He also owns one of the nastiest knockouts on his résumé, stopping Jose Vazquez-Lopez with a spinning elbow. It was the kind of finish that immediately gets your attention and showed just how dangerous he can be when he’s able to let his striking flow.
That said, I wasn’t particularly impressed with his performance against Alfredo Muaiad. He got the win and eventually captured the BFL flyweight title, but the overall performance left me with more questions than answers. His striking can be exciting, but I’m still waiting to see more consistency from him.
The British Columbia-based fighter is still early in his professional career, but he has already shown the ability to learn from adversity and improve consistently. At 29 years old, this is the stage where another strong performance could put him firmly on the radar outside of Canada.
He should have enough to beat Alvin Welch in this flyweight title fight, but there is one thing I’ll be watching closely: his takedown defense. If Welch can consistently get him to the mat, we could learn a lot about how Ahangarian handles opponents who can disrupt his striking game. There’s definitely talent here, but I’m still not completely sold on how high his ceiling is.
Bantamweight: Raul Ramses (12-0)
Raul “El Faraon” Ramses might be the biggest unknown on this list, which is exactly why I’ll be watching him closely.
The Peruvian enters BFL 88 undefeated at 12-0, with five knockout victories, three submissions, and four decisions. He has also won 15 consecutive fights when including his amateur career from 2016-17.
Ramses has spent his career primarily competing in Peru, with most of his professional fights under Inka FC. His most recent appearance came in April 2025, when he defeated Alex Conceicao by unanimous decision. Before that, he stopped Rony Henrique by doctor stoppage and finished Reimison Saraiva with a knee to the body.
That undefeated record is impressive, but the biggest question is how his game will translate against a different level of opposition. He has been away from competition since April 2025, and BFL 88 represents a significant opportunity to introduce himself to a North American audience. Most of his opponents have been relatively low-level, and he struggled at times to find finishes against subpar opposition.
His opponent, Caleb Moctezuma, has considerably more experience and has already shared the cage with Radley Da Silva, Javier Reyes and Drake Randall, among others. He’s currently on a four-fight losing streak, but he has wins over Michael Imperato and Gagan Gill, so the level should be considerably higher than what Ramses is used to.
Ramses therefore gets an interesting measuring stick in his BFL debut. If he can look impressive against Moctezuma, he could quickly become an option for a matchup with Radley Da Silva should Da Silva fail to get the UFC call-up he’s looking for.
Honorable Mention:
Lightweight: Roman Tassone (2-0)
Tassone is only 2-0 as a professional, but both victories have come inside BFL, and both have ended before the final bell. He submitted Derek Bergen with a front choke at BFL 82 before returning later in 2025 to stop Cedric Lochard with punches in the second round.
His first professional victory actually drew attention from MMA Fighting’s “Missed Fists,” which highlighted Tassone’s slick submission finish over Bergen.
Tassone also went 3-0 as an amateur with three finishes, so we clearly have a finisher on our hands. The only downside is his age. At 32 years old, he’s past what I would consider the traditional prospect threshold, which makes his development a little less interesting from a scouting perspective. Still, with just two professional fights under his belt, there is plenty left to learn about what Tassone can become.
