UFC veteran Desmond Green gets his wish, as he faces Canadian newcomer Charles Jourdain at UFC Rochester.
New Yorker Desmond Green will fight in his hometown at UFC Rochester against two-weight TKO champion Charles Jourdain in a lightweight contest. The news was reported by Mathieu Boulay, and then confirmed by Ariel Helwani.
Desmond Green, 29, was desperate to be on the upcoming Rochester card. Most recently, he retired Ross Pearson as he knocked out the English veteran in the first round with strikes last month at UFC Philadelphia. Prior to that, Green was coming off a close decision loss to top lightweight standout Maribek Taisumov in Taisumov’s home country of Russia. Throughout his Octagon career, Green holds victories over Gleison Tibau and Josh Emmett, whilst coming up short to Rustam Khabilov and Michel Prazeres. Despite a 3-3 record, Green is a worthy competitor in the stacked lightweight division.
Jourdain, 23, is a Canadian prospect who has thrived in top Canadian promotion TKO, who produced the likes of former welterweight king Georges St. Pierre. Since joining TKO in 2016, Jourdain fought seven times, winning six of them and winning two championship bouts. He captured the featherweight title with a first-round Guillotine victory over TriStar’s Alex Morgan at TKO 45. Jourdain then went a weight class up and defeated short notice replacement Damien Lapilus for the interim TKO lightweight title. Beforehand, he was supposed to face Jesse Ronson but Ronson was forced out due to a skin infection. Jourdain was victorious, defeating the 30-fight veteran Lapilus via TKO in round five. In nine career wins, Jourdain has finished all nine bouts, six of those coming via way of knockout. He earned his moniker “Air” with a flying knee knockout in his professional debut.
UFC Rochester: dos Anjos vs. Lee takes place May 18, live from Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena.
