It almost slipped by unnoticed, but it was clever of Topuria to sneak this week’s opponent, Charles Jourdain, into his list of finishes. He’s not looking past the Canadian, but he speaks of the bout almost as if it has already happened.
“He’s very skilled and he has all my respect because he jumped in [to save] the fight. But the result is going to be the same,” he shrugs. “I’m going to get that finish.”
He’s less complimentary of the man Jourdain is replacing in the bout: Russia’s Movsar Evloev. He wanted Evloev’s No. 13 ranking, of course, but he also just wanted to fight him.
“It was a disappointment because I wanted so much to crush his face. But what can I do? Things like this sometimes happen.”
So does that mean he would he be interested in rescheduling with Evloev? In Topuria’s mind, pulling out of a fight is the same as losing the fight.
UFC 270 COUNTDOWN: Ngannou vs Gane | Full Episode | Moreno vs Figueiredo
“Maybe in the future if he gets some wins I’ll give him a rematch. Right now, it’s El Matador 1, Movsar 0.”
If the Spain-by-way-of-Germany BJJ black belt manages to get his hand raised Saturday, the probability of that win being by the finish he predicts is acutely high. In his 11 pro fights, only one—his UFC debut vs Youssef Zalal—went the distance. It was only one of two times he went past the first round.
