Two featherweights on the outside of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s top 15 looking
in will do battle in Toronto early next year.

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Canada’s Charles
Jourdain
(15-6) will throw down with Dana White’s Contender Series alum Sean
Woodson
(10-1) at the
UFC 297
card set to take place on Jan. 20 at the Scotiabank
Arena in Toronto. The event will be the company’s first in Canada’s
most populous city since UFC 231 in 2018. The booking was first
announced by Eurosport
Nederland
on Wednesday, and subsequently confirmed by Woodson
and the promotion
on Thursday.

Jourdain is currently on a two-fight winning streak and is coming
off a first-round submission victory over Ricardo
Ramos
in September. Before that, the Quebec native notched a
unanimous decision victory against Kron Gracie
at UFC 288. “Air” celebrates an 87% finish rate, which includes
four stoppages in the Octagon over the likes of the aforementioned
Ramos, as well as Lando
Vannata
, Doo Ho Choi
and Marcelo
Rojo
.

Meanwhile, Woodson will enter the cage with a four-fight unbeaten
streak at his back, although activity has not been the highest for
“The Sniper.” Author of just one outing in 2022–a draw with
Luis
Saldana
–Woodson also made just one appearance in 2023, when he
topped Dennis
Buzukja
on the scorecards. Woodson does not post nearly as many
wins inside the distance as his opponent, celebrating just two
stoppages dating back the last five years.

UFC 297 will be headlined by middleweight champion Sean
Strickland
in his first defense against Dricus Du
Plessis
, which will go down in the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
The Jan. 20 pay-per-view will also feature a litany of additional
fights bringing at least Canadian to the table, including Mike Malott
against Neil Magny at
170 pounds, Marc-Andre
Barriault
facing Chris
Curtis
at middleweight, and Brad Katona
stepping up against Garrett
Armfield
in a bantamweight clash.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger