Athletes
Charles Jourdain: Fighting For More Than Himself
Canada’s Charles Jourdain Fights In His Home Country For The First Time In His UFC Career Against Sean Woodson At UFC 297: Strickland vs Du Plessis In Toronto
No year was as successful as 2023 for Canada’s Charles Jourdain.
Only winning one of three fights in 2022, Jourdain rebounded with back-to-back victories last year. At UFC 288: Sterling vs Cejudo, the UFC featherweight thwarted a grapple-heavy attack from Kron Gracie en route to a unanimous decision victory.
How To Watch UFC 297 In Your Country
Four months later, Jourdain earned a Performance of the Night bonus for his emphatic first-round submission victory over Ricardo Ramos. Now on a hot-streak, Jourdain looks to continue that success in 2024, and what better place to start than in his home country at the UFC’s first pay-per-view event of the year.
“[People] call it the ‘lucky year,’” Jourdain said of his 2023 campaign. “I was born on the 27th and I was 27 years old. I think you create luck from proper assessment towards yourself and the harder you are on yourself. That luck didn’t come from a number, it came from the number of hours I put in the gym, and 28, I’m going to be lucky again this year.”
While traveling to exotic places and exploring the world is one of Jourdain’s favorite parts of being a professional mixed martial artist, only having to take a near six-hour drive from his gym in Quebec, Canada, to Scotiabank Arena in Toronto has its advantages.
Charles Jourdain's Athlete Profile
Earlier this week, a hungry Jourdain, both literally and figuratively, began the final preparations for his upcoming clash with Sean Woodson at UFC 297: Strickland vs Du Plessis.
“You’re very hungry because of the lack of nutrients you’ve been absorbing through not eating food,” Jourdain told UFC.com during fight week. “We’re going to get to a point where I can’t wait to drink, and then I’m going to get to a point where I can’t wait to punch someone in the face.”
Not only is this Jourdain’s first time competing in Canada under the UFC banner, but it’s also the first time since he fought at the Bell Centre in a previous promotion that many of his friends and family members get to see him compete in person.
Jourdain’s loved ones will sit among an electrifying crowd that made their voices heard at the UFC 297 pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
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“Fighting in Canada means a crazy crowd,” Jourdain said. “I’ve heard so many good things about it. People say when there’s a Canadian fighting and there’s a Canadian crowd, there’s nothing like the roar of it, so I’m very anxious. I can’t wait to see how the Canadian fans will see me because I’ve been fighting for a long time, representing them for a long time and now I’m the OG; I think I’m the Canadian with the most fights [among active UFC fighters] and now, boom, I’m fighting in my backyard.
“I need to make sure that the blood lust of the crowd doesn’t’ drive me away from the strategy we’ve implemented to make sure we dispatch my opponent.”
Charles Jourdain vs Nathaniel Wood | Must See Matchup
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Charles Jourdain vs Nathaniel Wood | Must See Matchup
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Jourdain’s opponent, Woodson, is a 6-foot-2 ½ featherweight who’s unbeaten in his last four fights and suffered only one defeat in his entire professional career. Woodson’s size for the weight class makes him a difficult puzzle to solve for any opposition.
Knowing this, Jourdain tailored his training camp to focus more on strategy and improving his technical abilities rather than running his body into the ground.
UFC 297 Full Fight Card Preview
“I’m fighting a guy with a very weird build, weird morphology; very tall guy, skinny legs, good boxer,” Jourdain said describing Woodson. “Camp was pushed more toward martial arts than the grind. The grind aspect of it was there, of course, but it was more about strategizing to dismantle my opponent.”
According to Jourdain, Woodson would prefer to keep Saturday’s pivotal matchup at 145 pounds on the feet. Jourdain’s heard that many times before, but his opponents resorted to grappling as soon as Jourdain started to string together combinations.
“Every time I have a good striking exchange, [my opponents] unfortunately try to take me down, so I’m not discarding that possibility of taking me down,” Jourdain said. “He seems like a game man. He’s 5-1 in the UFC, which is very difficult to do. I’m happy I got a guy like that to fight in Canada. It’s going to be a good old cowboy fight; I hit you, you hit me, and one of us will go down.
“I’m going to be the one to have my hand raised because of the strategy we’re going to apply,” Jourdain said. “I think martial arts will overcome [Woodson’s] reach advantage and size. I’m very confident with this type of build. I have a tall guy who wants to strike, which is the perfect matchup for me. My jiu-jitsu is deadly, I can guillotine you if you try to go to the ground, and if you stay standing up, I’ll find your chin pretty quick.”
Jourdain told UFC.com that as nice as another win would be financially, the goal this Saturday is to inspire young mixed martial artists watching in Scotiabank Arena or on their televisions to pursue their dreams just like he did over 10 years ago, when he won his first amateur fight.
“I’m not just fighting for myself, I’m fighting for the young ones,” Jourdain said. “I’m becoming less self-centered with my journey; it’s more for others now. I feel accomplished as a young man, and now it’s about what I can give to the young ones.”
UFC 297: Strickland vs Du Plessis took place live from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on January 20, 2024. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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