He is more curiosity than contender, but it will be interesting to
see what Gracie can get done in the UFC in 2023. Gracie made his
UFC debut with a win over Alex
Caceres in 2019, which marked the first win for the First
Family inside the Octagon since 1994, and things essentially
remained the same in the 25 years since. Gracie’s striking is on
the low end of functional, but he can still run through an opponent
willing to test him out on the mat. Unfortunately, Gracie’s
sophomore appearance drove home exactly how much of an adventure it
can be getting to that point, as Cub Swanson
outmaneuvered him for the better part of three rounds, avoided
danger and walked away with the clear decision win. It was a
performance that actually revealed some promise for Gracie, who at
least showed a willingness to keep marching forward for 15 minutes
while also absorbing a ton of offense. Rather than build on that
performance, Gracie has instead taken about a four-year sabbatical
and now suddenly returns for this fight against Jourdain. Quebec’s
Jourdain came to the UFC in 2019 as one of the top prospects in
Canada, mostly thanks to his striking creativity and ability to
catch his regional competition unaware for a finish. The hope was
that “Air” could fully unlock his potential by focusing his
approach, but instead, he has gone the route of becoming better
through sheer experience, keeping up a torrid pace in terms of
accepting fights and making it to the cage. Jourdain is still a
wildman who essentially looks to keep trying things until something
works, and given time and space, he will adjust to his opponent to
some great effect. However, he is also just as capable of walking
right into his opponent’s type of fight, particularly one who looks
to take Jourdain to the ground and neutralize him for multiple
rounds. Jourdain should win this on paper, but much like Caceres,
this looks like a fight where Gracie’s opponent will be more than
willing to let him immediately get to what he does best. The pick
is Gracie via first-round submission.
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