Paris, France — Fighting in Paris has long been a dream of Canada’s Charles Jourdain, a native French speaker from Quebec. He gets to live out that dream this Saturday at UFC Paris, where the Quebecois featherweight faces Nathaniel Wood in a fight many (including Manon Fiorot) have picked as a potential Fight of the Night.
Being part of the UFC’s French debut is the best possible option for Jourdain, he told Cageside Press and other media outlets during Thursday’s UFC Paris media day.
“Yeah 100%. Even fighting in Canada right now wouldn’t boost me as much, in terms of, if they say ‘we’ve got an event in Calgary’ or something, I wouldn’t be the first one to jump in,” Jourdain (13-5-1) explained. “Of course if UFC wanted me to go over there, that would be cool but traveling the world to me right now is my goal.”
The fans, said Jourdain, play “a big role” in his fights. “I really like the energy of people. I went from a crowd booing me last time in Long Island to a crowd cheering me.” From the Burgos fight to Des Green in Rochester to Doo-Ho Choi in South Korea, Jourdain has become used to fighting in enemy territory and working to win over fans. “Now is going to be the first time that I actually have a crowd that might be behind me. So that’s going to be interesting.”
Jourdain enters the bout against Wood off a majority decision loss to Shane Burgos in July. It was another close loss for the Canadian; razor-thin defeats have happened more than once in his UFC career.
“Losing to Shane Burgos by majority decision really changed me. I hate that feeling of knowing I always came close,” Jourdain acknowledged. “I’m 4-2 as a featherweight, and the two losses are split decision and majority, and the two of them are questionable. So it’s a bittersweet feeling, but now I feel more like a man. As I’m growing up, I’m getting stronger, I’m getting faster, and everything is just getting better with time. I’m still far away from my prime, but I’m getting better fast.”
Watch the full UFC Paris media day appearance by Charles Jourdain above. The event takes place this Saturday, September 3, 2022 at the Accor Arena in Paris, France.
