Jourdain (9-3) is set to make his first walk to the octagon at UFC Edmonton on October 17, 2026. There, he’ll face off against Timmy Cuamba in bantamweight action.

SportsNet was first to report the booking, which UFC officials confirmed via press release on Tuesday.

Louis Jourdain earned himself a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last September, but has not fought since. The Montreal, Quebec-based fighter has won four straight fights, and holds a notable win earlier in his career over Tony Laramie, currently a RIZIN FF flyweight contender.

Cuamba picked up a decision win on the Contender Series in 2023, but did not earn a contract with his performance that night. One more win on the regional scene, however, and he was scooped up by the UFC, where he’s posted a 2-3 record to date.

In May, Cuamba saw a two-fight win streak snapped when he was submitted by Benardo Sopaj.

UFC Edmonton takes place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on October 17, 2026. The card is headlined by welterweights Mike Malott and Joaquin Buckley, with the following fights announced for the event:

• Joaquin Buckley vs. Mike Malott
• Mandel Nallo vs. Nate Landwehr
• Erin Blanchfield vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
• Timothy Cuamba vs. Louis Jourdain
• Marc-André Barriault vs. Kyle Daukaus
• Tanner Boser vs. Jhonata Diniz
• Jamey-Lyn Horth vs. Katlyn Cerminara
• Melissa Croden vs. Chelsea Chandler

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Jourdain, younger brother of Canadian UFC star Charles “Air” Jourdain, earned his way into the promotion care of a rear-naked choke submission of Magno Dias on the Contender Series this week.

“I’m so blessed to be here. I worked hard for it, so it’s even more worth it,” Jourdain (9-3) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight.

Having been cageside with his brother, Louis Jourdain is no stranger to the bright lights of the UFC. “I saw it so many times that it’s experience in my pocket, so it’s nothing new,” he stated. “The nerves were there, but it’s something I already saw, and I could picture it. What’s very good about having Charles as a brother is, every mistake he made over the years, I could see. And now I can correct them.”

“I’m like a new version of him when he was young, but more mature. All of his experience, it comes to me. It’s going to be a good run in the UFC from now on. And for him too; we’re going to terrorize the 135lb division from now.”

As far as a UFC debut date, while he has a medical suspension, Jourdain relayed the doctor was open to clearing him, depending on how things go. And he’s already asked to be part of the UFC’s next Canadian date.

“Maybe you’ll see me in two weeks in Vancouver. That would be very nice.”

Watch the full DWCS post-fight press conference with Louis Jourdain above.

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The stats so far in 2025: 31 contracts awarded across 35 total fights in seven weeks. Two Contender Series winners in 2025 have already made their UFC debuts: Rowston, and Baysangur Susurkaev, who already has his second fight with the company booked.

Among those in action this week, Louis Jourdain, brother of current UFC star Charles “Air” Jourdain.

Will we see another quick turnaround from one of this week’s winners? We’ll know come Tuesday, meanwhile, here’s our breakdown of the latest crop of Contender Series hopefuls.

Middleweight, Vitor Costa (8-1) vs. Damian Pinas (7-1)

Notable Notes

• Both fighters were supposed to compete earlier this season
• The only loss Pinas has is by DQ
• Costa hasn’t lost since his pro debut
• That loss was to UFC’s César Almeida
• Costa is undefeated at light heavyweight (4-0)
• Costa was a double champ for Jungle Fight
• Both have a combined ten first-round finishes
• Costa is 2-0 to the decision (both split)
• Pinas has never fought past round two
• Costa has won by KO/TKO, submission, and decision

Vitor Costa

Costa dropped his pro debut to current UFC fighter Cesar Almeida but hasn’t lost since, building a strong résumé along the way. He’s 1-0 in LFA, but his biggest accomplishments came in Jungle Fight, where he captured both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles. On paper, that kind of success in two thin divisions should be promising—especially for a UFC roster that needs depth. Unfortunately, Costa doesn’t project as much of a threat at the next level.

He’s a pressure fighter who comes forward looking for the finish, but his approach is raw. He lacks effective footwork, offers little to no defense, and fights at a pace that’s only sustainable for about five minutes. As the fight wears on, he fades hard—his power drops off, and his speed goes with it.

To his credit, he’s dangerous when he traps opponents against the cage and unloads, but against anyone with solid defense and composure, those moments will be much harder to come by. Costa has the finishing ability to put away lower-level opposition, but higher-level fighters will likely expose his cardio and defensive holes.

Damian Pinas

Pinas is getting this opportunity a bit too early in his development. At just 23 years old, he’s still very raw — and it shows on tape. He’s at his most dangerous when allowed to operate at range, where he can sit down on his punches and let his power go. But while the knockout threat is real, he tends to overthrow and waste energy with wild, inefficient strikes.

Most of his wins have come against lower-level opposition, and even in those fights, his defensive grappling has been a glaring weakness. He gets taken down too easily and too often. Off his back, he’ll stay active and look for submissions, but he doesn’t seem to have the technical depth to make those threats effective at a higher level — sweeping with a kimura against tougher competition just isn’t going to work.

Pinas also fights with a lot of wasted motion, and defending takedowns only accelerates his gas tank issues. Right now, he’s a one-shot power threat with major holes in his game. He needs more time and seasoning before he’s truly ready for this level, but maybe a Contender Series appearance will give him the experience and direction he needs to take the next step.

Prediction: With all the questions surrounding Pinas, this is a good stylistic fight for him. Costa isn’t gonna push the takedown, and on the feet, he has a lot of holes Pinas could puncture. Costa wants a messy fight and will walk forward and put the pressure on. His chin is shaky, and when he’s willing to strike with a guy like Pinas, it’ll be a long night. I expect Pinas to have a big speed, power, and technical advantage, and it becomes evident as soon as the fight goes. I see an early knockout from the rising Pinas.

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The Samourai MMA 14 card was headlined by Michael Dufort and featured names like Tommy Morrisson and Louie Jourdain. Morrisson is a 26-year-old undefeated flyweight prospect and Jourdain is the younger brother of UFC fan-favourite Charles. After a loss in the PFL last summer to Gadzhi Rabadanov, who went on to win the PFL tournament, Dufort was looking to follow in Yohan Lainesse’s footsteps who got back on track at SamouraiMMA Chapter 12 last November.

Samourai MMA 14 Full Card Recap

Louie Sanoudakis (10-3) vs Tarcisio Romano (11-6-1) [BANTAMWEIGHT]

ROUND 1: Sanoudakis made Romano pay with body kicks every time he’d nakedly switch to southpaw. Romano let his hands go a bit more than Sanoudakis and landed some solid leg kicks. Competitive round, 10-9 Romano.

ROUND 2: After spending almost half the round in the clinch, Sanoudakis finally got the fight’s first takedown. Romano worked his way back to the feet and got a takedown of his own. Sanoudakis eventually got top control and finished the round with some punishing knees to the body. 10-9 Sanoudakis

ROUND 3: With Sanoudakis seemingly the fresher fighter of the two entering the final round, the Canadian fighter was able to outpoint Romano on the feet. He then shot a takedown, worked his way to the back and finished the round by landing ground-and-pound shots. Clear 10-9 Sanoudakis.

A hard-fought but deserved win for Sanoudakis who moved to 11-3.

Official Result: Louie Sanoudakis def. Tarcisio Romano by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Antoine Chaput (4-2) vs Kaecy Raddon (5-1) [LIGHTWEIGHT]

ROUND 1: Started with close striking exchanges in the first couple minutes until Chaput connected with a clean right cross on Raddon’s chin. Raddon then instinctively shot a takedown that Chaput stuffed. In the clinch, Chaput landed a good knee to the body. Raddon kept shooting takedowns, but Chaput did a good job of instantly getting back to his feet. 10-9 Chaput

ROUND 2: Raddon put on the pressure on Chaput to start the round, but a lead head kick partially landed and forced Raddon to go back to the grappling. Chaput reversed Raddon’s takedown attempt and used a front headlock to land two good knees to the head before breaking. A body kick drew a wince from Raddon, who shot another takedown. Chaput once again got right back up and used a throw of his own to get Raddon down. 10-9 Chaput

ROUND 3: Raddon was relentless with the grappling, not letting Chaput get an inch of space. Chaput was landing damage in the short windows where he could by throwing elbows to Raddon’s head when the American was on his hips. Chaput’s second reversal forced a scramble that saw him lock in a D’arce. Chaput refused to let go of the lock and Raddon was eventually forced to tap.

The finish got a roar from the crowd who was cheering on the hometown kid the entire fight.

Official Result: Antoine Chaput def. Kaecy Raddon by submission (D’arce) (Round 3, 3:34)

Dany Mallette (7-2) vs Mac Laursen (7-2) [SUPER WELTERWEIGHT]

ROUND 1: Laursen put on the pressure right away. He pushed Mallette to the fence and got him down on his second attempt. A slick transition to the back allowed him to immediately threaten the rear-naked choke. After working for the choke for about a minute, he finally forced the tap out of Mallette.

A nice bounce back win for Laursen who had dropped a unanimous decision to ex-UFC welterweight Yohan Lainesse back in November. With matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard in attendance, Laursen called for a UFC spot.

Official Result: Mac Laursen def. Dany Mallette by submission (rear-naked choke) (Round 1, 3:22)

Louis Jourdain (7-3) vs Danilo Adreani (12-3) [FLYWEIGHT]

ROUND 1: Adreani quickly got Jourdain to the ground. Jourdain used his leg to throw a triangle attempt that forced a scramble and allowed him to get back to his feet. On the feet, Jourdain appeared to land a good counter right straight that got Adreani down to a knee, but the Brazilian seemed to signal it was a slip and not a knockdown. A close round, but I had it 10-9 Adreani because I did believe it was a slip.

ROUND 2: Jourdain landed another nice counter that forced a takedown attempt from Adreani, but this time it was the crowd favourite who ended up on top. And Jourdain made the most out of it by immediately landing big ground-and-pound strikes. He then attacked a kimura but let it go to instead pound Adreani to a TKO finish.

The brother of the UFC fan-favourite got the biggest pop from the crowd after his finish. The fans then started chanting “UFC” to incite the matchmakers who were present to maybe sign the 8-3 fighter.

Official Result: Louis Jourdain def. Danilo Adreani by TKO (Round 2, 4:51)

Samourai MMA 14 CO-MAIN EVENT: Tommy Morrisson (8-0) vs Christopher Daniel (9-4-1) [FLYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP]

ROUND 1: The two fighters clinched almost immediately, but it was Morrisson who got Daniel down. Morrisson stayed on top for almost the entirety of the round, landing a couple ground-and-pound shots in the process. Daniel threatened a leg entanglement that forced Morrisson to disengage. They spent the last 30 seconds of the round exchanging kicks. 10-9 Morrisson

ROUND 2: Daniel landed a solid right hand early in the round, but Morrisson took it well and answered with a couple rights of his own. Remembering the clear grappling edge he had in the opening round, Morrisson wasted no time shooting a takedown and took the fight to the mat. “Rambo” systematically worked his way to the back and attacked Daniel’s neck. The American was wise to it and slid to his back, so Morrisson landed in full mount. The Canadian got close with a couple submission attempts but Daniel was able to survive to the next round. 10-9 Morrisson

ROUND 3: Using the threat of his grappling, Morrisson started to feel a lot more comfortable on the feet. He let his hands go and was pressuring Daniel back. Morrisson once again took the fight to the ground, but a flurry of upkicks from the American appeared to catch Morrisson and sent him stumbling back. However, the crowd favourite recovered well and got Daniel down again, this time in the open. He kept his top position for the rest of the round. Perhaps still a bit dazed from the upkicks, Morrisson didn’t land nearly as much ground-and-pound as he did in the previous round. Because I wasn’t convinced the upkicks connected cleanly, I still had the round 10-9 Morrisson.

ROUND 4: Entering the championship rounds, both fighters’ gas tanks were holding up. With neither having a clear speed advantage over the other, they both kept landing their combinations. But once again, one attempt is all it took for Morrisson to get this the ground and control Daniel.  The American temporarily got back up but wasn’t able to get Morrisson off of him. After getting him back down, Morrisson was able to get into side control and ended the round with big elbows to the head. 10-9 Morrisson

ROUND 5: Knowing he needed a finish, Daniel came out in the final round and put Morrisson on the backfoot. Morrisson’s first takedown attempt of the round was stuffed by Daniel, but the second one along the fence was successful. Sensing the urgency, Daniel was able to get back to his feet much quicker this time around. Due to Morrisson’s relentless takedown attempts, Daniel was ultimately unable to fend him off. Morrisson used his top position to kill the clock and win yet another round. 10-9 Morrisson

This was one of the most mature performances from the Firas Zahabi product yet. His striking looked cleaner and his grappling looked as dominant as ever against jiu-jitsu specialist. “Rambo” kept his undefeated record intact and successfully defended his flyweight title.

Official Result: Tommy Morrisson def. Christopher Daniel by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)

Samourai MMA 14 MAIN EVENT: Michael Dufort (13-6) vs Ariston França (12-9) [LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP]

ROUND 1: Feeling the energy from the crowd, Dufort put the pressure right away on França. Once França’s back was against the fence, Dufort let his hands go, mixing up his targets well between the body and the head. After getting a takedown, Dufort disengaged and let França up. In a wild exchange along the fence, França caught Dufort and dropped him. He then grabbed a guillotine, but Dufort fought his way out of it. After getting to França’s back, Dufort’s transition and slick rear-naked choke attack forced the tap.

A thoroughly entertaining one-round fight that ended with the crowd on its feet, applauding their own.

The former PFL fighter got back in the win column in spectacular fashion as he grabbed the vacant SamouraiMMA lightweight title.

Official Result: Michael Dufort def. Ariston França by submission (rear-naked choke) (Round 1, 3:31)

In the end, this could only be described as another successful night for SamouraiMMA. The production was great, the event was well-paced, and the crowd got to see their hometown favourites go 5-1.

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