VANCOUVER – Charles Jourdain expects his finishing ability to translate even more at bantamweight.
Jourdain (16-8-1 MMA, 7-7-1 UFC) makes his second appearance at 135 pounds against Davey Grant (15-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 262 (ESPN+) featured prelim at Rogers Arena.
Jourdain’s bantamweight debut went perfectly after earning a bonus for his finish of Victor Henry at UFC Fight Night 246. He expects to find similar success against the gritty and durable Grant.
“After my last fight at ’35, I finished a guy who’s never been finished,” Jourdain told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “So now I truly believe I was forged in a different fire than the typical 135’er. I fought ’45’ers like Jean Silva and Sean Woodson and Doo Ho Choi. I’ve been hit, and I’ve been through war with very big guys, and that gives me a lot of confidence in my ability to finish guys at ’35.”
That finish is likely a submission in Jourdain’s mind.
“I did some digging in some interviews that he’s done and they asked him if it would be a standing up battle, and he answered, ‘It’s an MMA fight, I need to use all my tools,'” Jourdain said of Grant. “And now because he’s with Syndicate MMA, having Merab (Dvalishvili) and all those grappling-heavy guys, I wouldn’t be surprised him trying to take me down. If you look statistically, my takedown defense is like the worst thing that plays against me, so of course he’s going to try, and I’ll welcome him with a guillotine choke.”
