Charles Jourdain earned a unanimous decision victory over Kyler Phillips in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 273, held at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
The win pushes Jourdain’s record to 18-8-1 in MMA and 9-7-1 in the UFC, while Phillips drops to 12-5 MMA and 6-4 UFC. Their bout was awarded Fight of the Night, marking Jourdain’s third straight bonus.
Post-fight, Jourdain admitted his trademark submission wasn’t there on the night. "Unfortunately, my guillotine was not working," he said. "I think I talk a lot of sh*t with it, and people are quite good at defending it. But I almost pulled off a very nice kimura attempt." He also praised his opponent, adding, "Kyler Phillips has been five years in the top 15, so he's a very capable man and he was hard to put away. The guy has never been finished, and I thought I would be the one, but no. No one can finish Kyler Phillips as of today."
Despite the bonus-winning performance and a third consecutive victory, Jourdain sounded critical of aspects of his showing. "… To be completely frank, I think it shows if I get sloppy, I can be controlled, and I don't want to give that message to the bantamweight division," he said. "Right now, I need to go back home and reassess, because this is not the type of victory that you go chin high. It's a bittersweet victory. I'm happy with the win, but I need to level up."
