Charles Jourdain’s first bantamweight loss came in dramatic fashion at UFC 331.
Since moving down to 135 pounds, Jourdain had established himself as a dark horse contender with three consecutive victories heading into his bout against Marlon Vera in Los Angeles on Saturday. However, the slumping Vera took the fight to Jourdain, eventually hurting him with strikes in the final round. The bout was officially waved off when Jourdain signaled to the referee he couldn’t continue.
It’s unclear exactly what
injury Jourdain suffered, but he later released a statement via Instagram explaining that his vision was affected to the point that he had to signal he wanted out.
“Lost my eyesight in the third,” Jourdain said. “I waved the fight ‘cause I don’t need to receive more strikes to the head.
“I lost. I failed.”
It was a much-needed win for Vera, a one-time UFC title challenger mired in a career-worst four-fight slump. “Chito” had not won a fight since outpointing Pedro Munhoz in August 2023.
For Jourdain, he’ll look to recover and then get back on the winning track after previously defeating Kyler Phillips, Davey Grant, and Victor Henry to kick off his bantamweight run.
