Has the 29-Year-Old Canadian Found a Home in His New Division?
Charles Jourdain had so much potential when he first arrived in the UFC in 2019. An elite striker with fast hands and excellent Jiu-Jitsu, he looked poised to make a run at the title at 145. However, he has had an up-and-down career, and after his knockout loss to Jean Silva, he decided to make the permanent switch to 135. He has won his first two bouts in the Bantamweight Division, both winning by submission. He has a chance now if he gets his wish for an opportunity to be ranked in the top 15 of a division, finally. Is it time for Jourdain to try his hand at getting in the rankings, or should he continue to gain traction in his new division?
In most of his losses in the Featherweight Division, he was just overmatched in the size and strength department. It was a clear disadvantage when he lost back-to-back fights against Shane Burgos and Nathaniel Wood. Both of those fighters are known to be prolific strikers, but both resulted in wrestling against Jourdain and were able to overpower him and control their way to victory. On the feet, there are very few fighters who can match Jourdain’s speed. His ability to mix up his strikes from head to body to legs is a thing of beauty. He also has the ability, which was showcased in his last fight against Davey Grant, to pull his opponent in and land a devastating pinpoint knee. Once the fight gets to the ground, he can lock up a guillotine in a split second, and the squeeze he can generate is incredible. He has become well-rounded during his time throughout the UFC, and I think he can go on a crazy run and get himself into the top five next year. His fights are always exciting, so if he can continue to get finishes, the hype behind him will continue to grow.
After his win over Davey Grant last Saturday at UFC Canada, he called Marcus McGhee, who recently had a tough loss in his biggest fight against Petr Yan. McGhee is currently ranked 15th in the Bantamweight Division, and it would be a solid test to see how far Jourdain can go at 135. McGee is a big Bantamweight with heavy power in his hands and solid wrestling. If Jourdain can fare well against him and get a win, he could have an easy climb to the top. The Bantamweight Division has a lot of fighters on the back end of their career and could potentially call it a career in any one of their next fights. Jourdain is still young, and he’s hungry; he could use their names and where they are in their careers to build his career off their names.
‘Air Jourdain’ is back and couldn’t have looked better in his first two fights. With Merab Dvalishvili having run through most of the division already, he will be looking for new and hungry challengers very soon. He is a fighting champion, so if he continues to be as active as he has been, Jourdain could find himself getting a title shot within the next two years if he continues his run. Whatever happens, one thing is for sure: Charles Jourdain always brings the heat, and you're not going to want to miss his next fight.
