UFC Vegas 53: Jared Gordon’s Wife Predicted Charles Oliveira Would Be Champ

Las Vegas, NV — Entering his second straight UFC fight in the weight class, you can now consider Jared Gordon a lightweight.

Gordon (18-4) was forced to move up after missing weight for his February 2021 featherweight fight with Danny Chavez. He enters UFC Vegas 53 on a three-fight win streak, well aware of what a victory against opponent Grant Dawson could mean.

Gordon, who says he watches every fight regardless of weight class, was thrilled with the match-up. “I was happy, because I was supposed to fight [Rafael] Alves, who was 1-1. This is my 10th UFC fight, and no one knows him and he’s dangerous. So it’s like, I was kind of like ‘uh alright, I guess I’ll have to take it.’ But there’s way more reward when I beat Grant. He’s 5-0-1, and I think that it should get me close to the top 15 after I win.”

This is not Gordon’s first go in the UFC’s 155 pound division. While he moved back to featherweight after the fact, his last loss came in 2019 at 155 pounds, against future champ Charles Oliveira. It was actually Gordon’s wife who recognized that Oliveira would some day be champion.

“He was a on six-fight winning streak, I think all finishes before me. So I knew he was really, really good and he also had a boatload of experience before that,” recalled Gordon. “But when I lost, we were in the hotel room and my wife was like ‘he’s gonna be the champion.’ And then we watched him, I think he fought Kevin Lee, and then he fought [Tony] Ferguson, so on and so on. And look where he’s at. That loss aged super well for me.”

It’s not the champ, but Dawson that Jared Gordon is focused on now — and on securing his first finish since 2017. Since then, all five of his wins have gone the distance.

“I’m always preparing to go three rounds, yes, but I don’t want to go three rounds. I would like to get in and out of there. It’s just the way the cookie has crumbled for me,” Gordon told Cageside Press, acknowledging his lack of finishes since his promotional debut. “But before that, I was finishing guys. And then the level of competition goes up. And there was also a point where I was a on two-fight losing streak. And I was like ‘alright I’ve just got to win to keep my job.’ I had to treat it as a business for a little bit, instead of trying to treat it as an entertainment spectacle for the fans and stuff. I needed to keep my job.”

Back on a three-fight wins streak however, Gordon added that “I’ve gained a lot of experience, and I’m ready to show out.”

Watch the full UFC Vegas 53 media day appearance from Jared Gordon above. The event takes place this Saturday, April 30, 2022 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. More coverage can be found below.