Monthly Report | October 2025

When Jourdain made the move to bantamweight last year ahead of his fight with Victor Henry in Edmonton, it was met with curiosity and optimism, as the all-action French-Canadian had always been a little undersized for the featherweight ranks. After submitting Henry in the second round, it was clear Jourdain was a good fit in the new weight division, and the next step was getting a better read on where he stood in the divisional hierarchy.

An injury forced him out of a planned matchup with Ricky Simon in Atlanta, a fight that would’ve been a tremendous measuring stick. But his pairing with Davey Grant in Vancouver served the same purpose, and boy oh boy did the standout from Quebec make a statement, announcing himself as a legitimate threat in the 135-pound ranks.

UFC 321 REWIND: Main Card Results | Prelim Results | Scorecards

Midway through the first round, after attempting it twice before and not missing by much, Jourdain elevated and blasted Grant with a jumping knee that sent the British stalwart to the canvas in a heap. When he eventually tried to wrestle up, Jourdain dove on a guillotine choke, shifting from an arm-in to his signature palm-to-palm, high angled version to collect the tap.

Two fights, two submissions against two game veterans. More importantly, the 29-year-old from Beloeil isn’t physically overmatched in there anymore. Size was his limiting factor at featherweight, but at bantamweight, Jourdain is a tremendous fit and a dangerous new addition to the ranks. Do not be surprised if he lands opposite someone with a number by their name next time out.

Honorable Mentions: Bia Mesquita, Melissa Croden, Yousri Belgaroui, Quillan Salkilld

Submission of the Month: Charles Oliveira taps Mateusz Gamrot (UFC Rio)

It has been a decade since Charles Oliveira lost consecutive fights, and though it’s happened a couple times during his career, he’s never dropped back-to-back outings when competing at lightweight.

None of those things made me less antsy about “Do Bronxs” returning to action in October following his punishing knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in June. I liked it a little less when Mateusz Gamrot tagged in for the injured Rafael Fiziev, but fighting in Rio de Janeiro for the first time in his UFC career, Oliveira kept both of those streaks intact by storming through his Polish counterpart and collecting his record-extending 21st finish and 17th submission victory inside the Octagon.

A lot of people, me included, expected this to be a hard-fought battle between two well-rounded veterans with a preference for engaging in the grappling realm. Instead, Oliveira stood head and shoulders above Gamrot, outclassing him on the canvas and securing a second-round finish to get himself right back into the win column and show he still has something left in the tank.

READ: The Biggest Storylines After UFC 321 In Abu Dhabi

Because he hasn’t risen to being a full-blown contender in the UFC, people tend to forget how good Gamrot is, but “Gamer” was 25-3 with one no contest heading into the fight and had never been finished, with two of his three losses coming by split decision, and Oliveira schooled him.

I’ll be honest: I was anxious about the Brazilian legend’s future after his loss to Topuria, as it was a hellacious knockout, but I have zero worries going forward. And if we do get Oliveira and Max Holloway for the BMF title next year… I don’t even know…. I don’t have words, just high-pitched squeaks of giddy excitement.

Honorable Mentions: Ramiz Brahimaj vs Austin Vanderford, Youssef Zalal vs Josh Emmett, Jafel Filho vs Clayton Carpenter, Kaan Ofli vs Ricardo Ramos, Valter Walker vs Louie Sutherland

Knockout of the Month: Quillan Salkilld chalks Nasrat Haqparast (UFC 321)

Watching a fighter get knocked out in place and then crash to the canvas is equal parts jarring and transfixing; you want to look away because you know seeing them fall is going to be harsh, but at the same time, the impact and the delivery of the knockout blow always leaves you frozen in place, staring as they fall to the ground.

Salkilld collected one of the best knockouts of the year at UFC 321, catching Nasrat Haqparast with a right high kick that put the Afghani lightweight out in a flash before he dropped face-first to the canvas. While not as speedy and visually captivating as Mauricio Ruffy’s knockout of King Green earlier this year, or Edson Barboza’s all-timer against Terry Etim, this was more like Addison Barger’s pinch-hit grand slam for the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night — a clear “this one is done” shot where you instantly wondered if Haqparast was okay because he was rigid when he dropped.

UFC 321 POST-FIGHT INTERVIEWS: Mackenzie Dern | Umar Nurmagomedov | Alexander Volkov | Azamat Murzakanov | Quillan Salkilld

One of two fighters from Luistro Combat Academy in Perth to earn a UFC contract last year on Dana White’s Contender Series, the 25-year-old Salkilld has put together quite a rookie year, going 3-0 with two rapid, memorable finishes, two performance bonuses, and a gutsy, dig-deep decision win stuck in between for good measure.

Lightweight is always deep and flush with talent, but Salkilld is definitely one to keep close tabs on going forward.

Honorable Mentions: Edmen Shahbazyan vs Andre Muniz, Ateba Gautier vs Tre’Stone Vines, Jiří Procházka vs Khalil Rountree Jr., Vitor Petrino vs Thomas Petersen, Azamat Murzakanov vs Aleksandar Rakić

Fight of the Month: Drew Dober and Kyle Prepolec throw down (UFC Vancouver)

Most months, competitive and technical title fights or main event pairings end up claiming top spot here because there is just more at stake, more gravitas to those pairings, but this month, a pair of veteran lightweights beat the hell outta each other in Vancouver and couldn’t be denied top billing.

If you knew anything about these two going in, then you knew from the minute it was announced that it carried the potential to be an old fashioned slobberknocker. Dober is allergic to boring fights and Prepolec has been chomping at the bit to face someone that would happily stand with him. Once they were in the Octagon, they exceeded expectations by combining for a wildly entertaining clash that rightfully earned Fight of the Night honors and featured a furious finish.

Deadlocked at one round each after the first 10 minutes of these two beating the stuffing out of one another, the action was paused early in the third round after Dober inadvertently connected with a nasty low blow that left Prepolec teetering on the edge of not being able to continue. The partisan crowd let Dober hear it and the referee docked him a point, which made it so the best the Denver-based veteran could hope was a draw if he couldn’t find a finish… so Dober made sure it didn’t go the distance.

Ciryl Gane Post-Fight Presser

On the restart, he charged across the Octagon and took it to Prepolec, who tried valiantly to weather the onslaught, but couldn’t, resulting in the bout being halted.

Not only was this a wildly entertaining scrap between two veteran bangers who left a little bit of themselves out there in the cage for all eternity, but Dober’s ferocious pursuit of the finish is also a solid little instructional moment for how you’d like to see people handle themselves in those situations. He understood the situation before him and ratcheted up the urgency, making sure to get himself the win rather than rolling the dice with the results by not stepping on the gas.

Honorable Mentions: Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen, Aiemann Zahabi vs Marlon Vera, Nathaniel Wood vs Jose Miguel Delgado, Ludovit Klein vs Mateusz Rebecki, Umar Nurmagomedov vs Mario Bautista