An easy pick for Fight of the Night on paper heading into the event, Shane Burgos and Charles Jourdain’s featherweight match-up at UFC Long Island had caught the attention of MMA fans from the moment it was announced.
Both men were known as action fighters, with nary a dull fight between them.
That held true right off the bat Saturday, with the pair going right at it. Burgos would soon take over on the feet, then take the back of Canada’s Jourdain along the fence. Burgos dragged him down, locking on a body triangle and sinking in a rear-naked choke. Jourdain would give the thumbs up in a dicey situation, and survive the attempt. He’d reverse and scramble out, with the action briefly paused as Jourdain lost his mouthpiece.
Back on the feet, Jourdain threw a knee in the clinch and practically tossed Burgos to the ground. Burgos was right back up, and Jourdain fired another knee to the body, then another. Controlling the wrists, Jourdain did some good work in the clinch, but Burgos reversed and broke free. Jourdain went to the body with a kick, then clinched up again, working the body with punches.
Round two saw Burgos feinting, but Jourdain wasn’t buying any of them. Burgos took the back standing again, dragged Jourdain down, and mounted the back while Jourdain was on his way up. This time, Burgos stayed on the back with Jourdain along the fence, sapping the Canadian’s energy. Jourdain survived and eventually tried to shake Burgos off, who was at risk of coming over the top. A few slight adjustments saw him hold on, however, and Burgos remained in place. He’d finally clamp on a choke that was more across the jaw, but still precariously tight. Jourdain fought that off and would survive to see a third round.
Jourdain found himself fending off another takedown in the third, and wisely used a guillotine to fire knees to Shane Burgos’ body. That kept the fight standing, and Jourdain began to open up, letting his hands go and showing good head movement. Jourdain put Burgos against the cage, ducking, moving, and firing punches in bursts. He added knees to the clinch, landed an uppercut, a jumping knee, and really began putting it on Burgos. With just over a minute to go, Burgos took a glance at the clock. Jourdain pressed, forcing Burgos to retreat across the octagon. Burgos managed to get the back again, before the Canadian finally yelled ‘come on!’ and raised his hands as Burgos tried to take him down again. Jourdain got right back up, and fired a head kick at the buzzer to cap off a superbly entertaining fifteen minutes.
Official Result: Shane Burgos def. Charles Jourdain by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
