Can ‘The Matrix’ Survive the Storm? ‘Air’ Eyes Statement KO
‘The Chosen One’, ‘Neo,’ and other names are given to a character in a popular franchise series. However, to those in the UFC, ‘The Matrix’ is a different character entirely, and his real name is Kyler Phillips. His opponent on April 18th is not Mr. Smith, but a force of nature called ‘Air,’ whose real name is Charles Jourdain. These two mythic characters will fight each other before the title card premieres with Gilbert Burns vs. Mike Malott at UFC Fight Night. The fighters come out of the Men’s Bantamweight Division and will look to make their mark to move into this division’s rankings.
Kyler Phillips: Length, Grappling, and Efficiency
Phillips’ career with the UFC began as early as 2020, but he fought in Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017. He has lost two of his last five fights but demonstrates strong grappling skills. This is because he put one opponent in a guillotine choke during his past fights. He could do so again in this fight if he uses his reach properly. It is longer than his opponent’s and makes it difficult for ‘Air’ to access ‘The Matrix’ for any openings. Furthermore, he absorbs less significant strikes than his opponent. This makes sense when looking at the number of fights, as the 30-year-old hasn’t had more fights than Jourdain in his fight career.
Charles Jourdain: Momentum and Submission Threat
Jourdain has amassed a 17-8-1 record and is on an upward trajectory in his fighting career. He has won three of his past five fights, with all three coming from submission-based wins. This presents a problem for his 30-year-old opponent, who is a former IBJJ blue belt world champion. It’s a similar situation to the moment when a master faces a grandmaster of discipline. However, the fight is not decided on grappling, and these fighters are not grandmasters. ‘Air’ does land more strikes per minute at this point when the two are compared, and that alone will stop a fight from going to the ground.
Breaking Down the Numbers: Who Has the Edge?
The person winning this fight is Jourdain, once the statistics of both fighters are viewed together. This is due to several factors mentioned above, but mostly because his striking techniques land more than those of his opponents. Couple that with his strong ground game, and you have a well-rounded fighter. However, he did lose one of his past five fights with a solid KO/TKO punch, and this weakness could be exploited by Phillips if he finds the same opening on ‘Air’. It is unlikely, but as a fight goes on, it is anyone’s guess.
Final Prediction: Enter the Octagon
Although facts will not lie, math is also less prone to being manipulated by hard numbers. Simply put, the more strikes a fighter lands, the more they win their fight, and at the same time, a solid submission does this, too. ‘The Matrix’ can be escaped, too, especially since his opponent is ‘Air’, and Jourdain winning by submission will be the headline at the end of this fight. However, he could not, and instead faced utter destruction while standing, if the former IBJJ blue belt world champion has improved his striking since his last fight. Stream it live to find out and enter the matrix that is the octagon through Paramount+ at 8:00 PM EDT on April 18th!
