Charles Jourdain to Face Ilia Topuria on Short Notice at UFC 270

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At this rate, the next Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view will look nothing like it did even a few weeks ago.

Initially broken by MMA reporter Alvaro Colmenero on Thursday, Ilia Topuria (11-0) has a new opponent for his featherweight tilt on UFC 270. He was initially set to take on Movsar Evloev, but the Russian tested positive for COVID-19 and the fight was scratched. Instead of preserving the matchup, the promotion elected to replace Evloev with Charles Jourdain (12-4-1) for the Jan. 22 event. This battle at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., will take place on the prelims, and it has been subsequently confirmed by multiple outlets.

On the heels of the first decision win of his career – a unanimous verdict over Andre Ewell in December – Jourdain will springboard into this short-notice opportunity. The high-flying Canadian known as “Air” Jourdain had previously earned all 11 of his past victories by stoppage, with eight by knockout and more than one set up by flying strikes. Jourdain has had a tumultuous time as of late, with two wins, two defeats and a draw in his last five dating back to 2020. While he did knock Marcelo Rojo out, he was submitted by Julian Erosa and dropped a split decision to Andre Fili along the way.

Topuria has yet to lose as a professional, with 11 wins since making his debut in the sport in 2015 including 10 stoppages to his credit. Since making his way to the roster in 2020, Topuria topped highly touted prospect Youssef Zalal in his debut on the scorecards, knocked Damon Jackson out a few months later and laid waste to Ryan Hall in his last time out. While most of Jourdain’s triumphs have come due to strikes, Topuria’s preferred method of victory is the choke.

UFC 270 will play out inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Jan 22, as heavyweight Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane look to unify their heavyweight belts. The co-main attraction draws the trilogy match at flyweight between champ Brandon Moreno and ex-125-pound kingpin Deiveson Figueiredo. Topuria was originally expected to fight on the main card, but the shifting of the matchup has moved it to the prelims in exchange for Michel Pereira vs. Andre Fialho at welterweight.