Charles Jourdain: Because I'm not like Georges St-Pierre, Canada 'don't give a sh*t about me'
LAS VEGAS – Canada’s Charles Jourdain thinks his country comparing him to Georges St-Pierre is unfair.
Like former UFC dual-champion and Hall of Famer St-Pierre, Jourdain (14-6-1 MMA, 5-5-1 UFC) hails from Quebec, Canada.
Jourdain has had mixed success in the octagon, but has always thrilled fans with exciting battles. However, the pressure from his country’s constant comparison to St-Pierre has weighed on him, since he sees those expectations as simply unrealistic.
“Because I’m not like Georges, they don’t give a sh*t about me,” Jourdain told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 228 media day. “And it – not pisses me off, because I learned to live with it, but I’m like, ‘Man, there’s never going to be another Georges.’ And Georges set the bar so high for us. Sometimes I watch on UFC Canada and it’s like, ‘He’s good, but he’s never going to be Georges.’
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, no sh*t.’ No one’s going to be Georges. It f*cking hurts to see that because come on, you need to think deeper than that. Like, of course I’m not going to be the greatest fighter of all time. But I’m representing your flag at the end of the day, which I’m happy about. It makes me laugh. It’s OK. I wish more people were interested in it, but it’s OK. It’s their choice. They can watch hockey.”
After snapping a two-fight losing skid against Kron Gracie at UFC 288 in May, Jourdain will face Ricardo Ramos (16-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 228 main card opener at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 228.