Following a trio of title fights at UFC 259 the octagon stays put at the Apex for UFC Vegas 21. The event is headlined by Leon Edwards taking on Belal Muhammad, who finally gets a step up in competition albeit on short notice. Also on the card is Dan Ige vs. Gavin Tucker, Angela Hill, Rani Yahya, Nasrat Haqparast, and more. In a featherweight bout, Charles Jourdain was supposed to fight Steve Garcia. Garcia had to drop out and now Jourdain will fight newcomer Marcelo Rojo.
Marcelo “El Pitbull” Rojo
5’8″
Bantamweight
32-years-old
Cordoba, Argentina
Entram Gym
16-6
8 KO/TKO’s
6 Submissions’
How will Rojo fare in the UFC:
Rojo is an exciting fighter who isn’t capable of a boring fight. Rojo immediately asserts himself in the fights pressing forward and bringing the action. He loves to throw leg kicks to the lower calf and does an excellent job throwing his hands behind and in front of kicks. From the clinch, Rojo is a stud in the thai plum position landing an abundance of lethal knees. He likes to use a lot of fakes and feints to set up bigger strikes. At times Rojo will shoot for a takedown. I wouldn’t rate his wrestling particularly high but down have some credible jiu-jitsu.
Although his grappling defense could use some adjustment his offensive grappling is good when it comes to attacking submissions. Offensively he’s a lethal fighter but he’s the opposite of defensively sound. Rojo has been taken down many times and against a good grappler, he’s probably going to have a hard time. I’m not too confident in his durability. He’s been cracked before and I’m not sure he can take one right on the jaw and survive in the UFC.
- Striking: B+
- Kickboxing: B+
- Clinch: B+
- Wrestling: C+
- Grappling: C+
- Striking Defense: C+
- Takedown Defense: D
- Cardio: B
- Biggest Strength: Striking
- Biggest Weakness: TDD
How he matches up with Jourdain:
One thing pretty much guaranteed is that this should be a contender for Fight of the Night at UFC Vegas 21. Both athletes always bring it and display a lot of high-velocity action. Rojo is probably a bit more technical while Jourdain is a lot faster and hits much harder. Defensively I know Jourdain can take anything Rojo throws at him. On the other side, I’m not sure Rojo can take too many big shots from Jourdain. It’s going be a scrap but I think the proven fighter is Jourdain and his speed should be a factor.
