Underdog Vera ends four-fight skid with record-breaking stoppage of Jourdain at UFC 331

Marlon Vera silenced doubts about his career with a third-round stoppage of Charles Jourdain at UFC 331 on 19 September at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, ending a four-fight losing streak and setting the UFC bantamweight knockdown record in the process. Vera entered the bout as a +200 underdog against the -180 favourite Jourdain, and secured his first finish in four years.

Jourdain, who had strung together three consecutive wins with three performance bonuses since dropping to bantamweight in 2024, looked composed on the feet early. Vera, known as a slow starter, was initially on the back foot, but began to assert himself late in the first round — earlier than his usual rhythm.

The turning point arrived in the second round, when Vera found his range and knocked Jourdain down for the first time. He carried that momentum into the third, flooring the Canadian twice more to surpass every bantamweight in UFC history for knockdowns in a single fight. After the third knockdown, Jourdain shelled up and signalled to the referee that he had taken enough punishment, bringing the contest to a close.

For Vera (23-12), the win ends a painful run that had stretched across four consecutive defeats since 2024. The Ecuadorian was defiant in his post-fight Octagon interview, crediting resilience and family as the driving forces behind his comeback.

“I have never made excuses in my life,” Vera said. “I have never blamed a person or anything. My faith, my strength, my heart, my immigrant mentality, which is the most important thing that I have. For my family, for my kids, I’m in here for another run. I have been training hard; I haven’t changed that. Sometimes things don’t go your way. But if you dig deep, you put the shadows and the demons aside, the voices in your head, everything is possible in life. And I’m just happy that I’m able to show this by example.”

Jourdain drops to 18-8 overall, with his bantamweight momentum now halted after a run that had suggested he was building toward a title picture. Vera, meanwhile, re-enters the division’s conversation on the back of a performance that was as much about record-setting power as it was about mental fortitude.