Preview: UFC Fight Night 228 ‘Fiziev vs. Gamrot’

Featherweights

Charles Jourdain (14-6-1, 5-5-1 UFC) vs. Ricardo Ramos (16-4, 7-3 UFC)

ODDS: Jourdain (-135), Ramos (+114)

Two talented featherweights look for things to fully click in one of the more interesting fights on the card. Jourdain’s win over Kron Gracie in May was a chore to watch, but it was at least a solid point of progress for Canada’s “Air,” who has typically been the type of fighter to charge right into an opponent’s best weapons without much thought to what comes next. A 2019 win over Doo Ho Choi in Jourdain’s second UFC bout put him on the greater radar in short order, but it feels about right that he has never strung together two straight wins or losses. There was enough craft to Jourdain’s game that he could find some impressive finishes, but his wild mentality left him open for a loss against any opponent willing to stay safe and stick to a consistent game plan. Over time, Jourdain has kept busy enough and put in enough rounds that he is starting to smooth out some of those edges. He is now clearly a fighter who builds his way into a fight over time, and again, that victory over Gracie showed a bare minimum of game planning that was not always a guarantee from Jourdain even just a few years prior. It is unclear how that all shakes out against Ramos, another surprisingly young veteran still looking to turn moments of dynamism into consistent success. Ramos was just 21 years old when he hit the UFC in 2017 and has proven capable of some spectacular moments. He might be at his best as a grappler, but Brazil’s “Carcacinha” has also managed to uncork two knockouts via spinning back elbow during his UFC career. Ramos almost favors a younger Charles Oliveira with how he can combine those highlights with some moments of flakiness. There have been a few losses where things have quickly crumbled for Ramos as soon as his opponent gains some momentum, along with issues like an eight-pound weight miss for a scrapped fight against Austin Lingo in March. Ramos might be the more dynamic finisher, but Jourdain has been historically durable. Combined with the Canadian’s tendency to press things, that is enough to give him the nod in a fight that might wind up as an inconsistent war of attrition. The pick is Jourdain via third-round stoppage.

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Fiziev vs. Gamrot
Mitchell vs. Ige
Rodriguez vs. Waterson-Gomez
Battle vs. Fletcher
Jourdain vs. Ramos
The Prelims