Quebec’s Charles Jourdain has made an important step in his career by signing a first contract with the UFC. He admits, this graduation arrives faster than he had anticipated and he has experienced a whirlwind of emotions since he concluded Sunday a four-fight agreement that was formalized on Monday.
“It’s more pressure today than I thought. Yesterday I was not even able to describe what state I was in. I did not know if I felt like crying, singing or dancing.” Jourdain said.
“It was very strange to put in words how I would feel. You imagine all the worst scenarios and the best scenarios. The worst thing is that Desmond Green is fat, I still have trouble walking, as a result of my last fight, so what happens if I lose? The other side of the coin is that I went to the UFC and it’s impressive.
“When I heard the news, my entourage said that I did not look excited or surprised. It was not that I was not happy, but that I knew that I had worked hard to get to that point. That does not mean that I want to have my head swollen and say that I deserve to be there, but when you work hard for something, that’s what happens.
“I was really proud, but I was not so excited because I noticed that it’s a new part of my life beginning and another ending. I loved working with TKO. Now that I’m leaving with a new company, we have to say bye to many people with whom I get on well. It’s a bit like changing offices, changing jobs. I was super happy and super sad at the same time.” Jourdain added.
After beating Damien Lapilus on April 12 for the interim title of light, making him a double TKO champion, Jourdain did not know at all what was waiting for his last fight with the organization. He was ready to honor his contract until the end, but also ready to make the leap into the UFC at 23.
Marc Antoine vs Charles Jourdain. (Source:www.mtltimes.ca)
“There are not many people in the new generation of TKO who have done as much as me and Marc-Andre Barriault. I fought nine times for Stephane [Patry] in two and a half years. It’s a lot of fights.” Jourdain said.
“We sold a lot of tickets, we helped with social media. We helped each other as much to grow the company as to grow as athletes. When Stephane called me to tell me the news, I was surprised. I think I did what I had to do to deserve that. Stephane gave me permission to leave and I will be grateful to him for a long time,” Jourdain added.
