Shane Burgos had to survive a late comeback attempt from Charles Jourdain, but he still did enough to get the job done in a back-and-forth battle at UFC Long Island.
The difference in the fight was Burgos’ grappling as he repeatedly took Jourdain to the canvas and threatened him with submissions, which also ate a lot of time off the clock. Despite a valiant attempt from Jourdain to storm back in the third round, it ultimately wasn’t enough, with the judges scoring the fight 29-28, 29-28, and 28-28, giving Burgos the nod via majority decision.
Afterward, Burgos lamented a less than spectacular showing while also revealing that his latest fight was the final bout on his current deal with the UFC.
“I thought I had the first two rounds but that body triangle killed my f****** legs,” Burgos said. “I fully expected him to come in his best, but I’m not happy with that performance. I knew I had a big advantage on the ground.
“So that was the last fight on my deal. Let’s get back in the UFC, maybe November, December somewhere around there.”
There was no feeling-out process for Burgos, who came out throwing right away as he backed Jourdain against the cage while firing off rapid-fire combinations. A takedown from Burgos put Jourdain in immediate trouble as the New York native advanced to the back while he started looking for a rear-naked choke submission.
Despite the bad spot, Jourdain managed to scramble free to reset on his feet and that’s where he began his own offensive onslaught with huge, heavy knees to the body and good timing with his boxing as well.
With Jourdain appearing to be the faster fighter, Burgos looked to slow him down by once again turning to his grappling as he swooped inside and jumped on the back while locking on the body triangle. Jourdain stayed patient while trying to shake Burgos off his back, but he just couldn’t break free of his grip.
Burgos continued to attack while also maintaining his dominant position before looking for a neck crank and then another rear-naked choke attempt. Jourdain survived to get to the third round, where he once again showed better striking than Burgos, who just appeared to be a step behind the Canadian in fiery exchanges on the feet.
With less than two minutes remaining, Jourdain really began snapping off punches that saw Burgos’ head twist and turn with every strike landed. The fighters continued to trade blows until the horn sounded with the crowd roaring in approval.
The featherweights delivered as expected and it’s hard to imagine the UFC won’t find a way to get Burgos back under contract, especially off an impressive win like that on Saturday.
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