Bantamweights are headed to Cali.
No. 10-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight Marlon Vera collides with Canada’s Charles Jourdain at UFC 331 on Sat., Sept. 19, 2026, which is rumored to take place inside Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
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Vera’s management announced the matchup on social media today.
Vera (23-12-1) is riding a dreaded four-fight losing streak, dropping decisions to Sean O’Malley, Deiveson Figueiredo, Aiemann Zahabi and David Martinez in his most recent outing earlier this year.
“Chito” has not won a fight since 2023, when he defeated Pedro Munhoz at UFC 292. Since then, he has gone 1-5 in his last six appearances and has slid from title challenger to a fighter badly needing a win to keep his spot in the rankings.
Now, he is defending that spot against a red-hot contender.
Jourdain (18-8-1) has been tremendous since dropping down to Bantamweight, winning all three of his fights at 135 pounds and earning performance bonuses in each of them.
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In his Bantamweight debut, “Air” submitted Victor Henry (watch highlights). He followed that up with a first-round submission over Davey Grant (watch highlights), then defeated former Top 15-ranked Bantamweight Kyler Phillips in his most recent outing.
With a win at UFC 331, Jourdain should finally jump into the official Bantamweight rankings. He is already ranked in the Meta UFC Rankings, currently sitting at No. 12.
For Vera, this is a must-win fight.
For Jourdain, it is a massive opportunity to beat a former title challenger, extend his Bantamweight run and officially break into the division’s Top 15.
No other fights have been announced for UFC 331 at this time.
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