Waves can be difficult to make in the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division, but Kevin Jousset certainly appears to have put himself in position to make them.
As Jousset approaches his upcoming clash with Battle at 185 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. His link to martial arts can be traced to childhood.
Jousset started his formal judo training at the age of 4—he told UFC.com that his parents believed he “had too much energy”—and now holds the rank of second dan black belt in the discipline.
2. Immediate success greeted him in his transition to MMA.
The Bordeaux, France, native made his professional mixed martial arts debut as a 25-year-old on March 29, 2019. Jousset cut down Sam McNally with a perfectly timed and executed knee strike just 60 seconds into their pairing on the Australian regional scene. Five-plus years later, McNally has yet to fight again.
3. He handed over the reins to his career to a proven commodity.
Jousset operates out of the esteemed City Kickboxing camp in Auckland, New Zealand, where he develops under the watchful eye of trainer Eugene Bareman. The gym has already produced two Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholders with middleweight Israel Adesanya and featherweight Alexander Volkanovski.
4. He made history before he arrived in the UFC.
The New Zealand-based Frenchman was the first simultaneous two-division champion in the Hex Fight Series organization. He captured the company’s vacant middleweight crown with a five-round split decision over Priscus Fogagnolo at HFS 25 in February 2023, then claimed its welterweight title with a third-round technical knockout of Kitt Campbell at HFS 26 a little more than three months later.
5. His travels have not included a homecoming.
Jousset has never fought in his native France. His entire 12-fight career has been confined to appearances in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.