Jourdain vs Cuamba Preview: Bantamweight Pace Meets Power in Edmonton
Two unranked bantamweights with wildly different stat lines meet at UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs Malott on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Canada's Louis Jourdain takes on American Timmy "Twilight" Cuamba, and the UFC.com numbers frame it as pace against patience.
Jourdain's UFC.com sample is still small (78 of 159 significant strikes landed), but the rate is startling: 7.32 landed per minute against just 2.44 absorbed. He connects at 49%, averages 1.41 knockdowns and the same number of submission attempts per 15 minutes, and logs zero takedowns. Eighty-six percent of his significant strikes come on the feet, 9% on the ground and 5% in the clinch. He defends 54% of significant strikes and 67% of takedowns.
Cuamba (10-4-0), who made his Octagon debut on Feb. 10, 2024, is a more measured operator. His wins split evenly, five by knockout and five on the scorecards, with no submissions and one first-round finish. He lands 2.88 significant strikes per minute at 43% accuracy and absorbs 3.72. Wrestling isn't much of a weapon for him: he has landed one takedown in 19 attempts. Defensively he grades out a touch better, stopping 56% of strikes and 71% of takedowns.
- Height and reach: both stand 69 inches, but Cuamba holds a 1.5-inch reach edge, 71 to 69.5.
- Age: Cuamba is 27, Jourdain 29.
- Output: 7.32 significant strikes per minute to 2.88, more than double.
- Knockdowns: 1.41 on average for Jourdain, 0.20 for Cuamba, despite Cuamba's five career knockout wins.
- Fight time: Cuamba's UFC bouts last 12:43 on average, Jourdain's 10:39.
Both men land 86% of their significant strikes at range, so this one should stay standing. The key question: can Cuamba use his reach and his comfort in longer fights to slow Jourdain down, or will the Canadian set a pace from the opening bell that Cuamba can't keep up with?
The card opens at 3 p.m. local time, and the main card follows at 6 p.m., so get there early to make sure you catch this one. Get your seat: UFC Fight Night Edmonton tickets for Oct. 17.