UFC Paris: About Saturday's Action...
Great Night for France’s “Good Kid”
Ciryl Gane closed out the debut event in his hometown of Paris in spectacular fashion, felling Tai Tuivasa late in the third round of an absolutely riveting main event.
After feeling each other out in the first round, Gane and Tuivasa got after one another in the second, with “Bam Bam” dropping “Bon Gamin” along the fence, only for the Frenchman to rise to his feet and rally, hurting Tuivasa with persistent attacks to the midsection. Down the stretch of the second frame, you could see Tuivasa’s gas tank draining, and in the third, Gane went right back to the well.
He stung the charismatic Australia to the body again, but followed it up with a laser-beam right hand that put him in a daze. The follow-up blows all found a home, yet Tuivasa remained standing, only for Gane to deliver a thunderous left hand that took him off his feet, sending the crowd at Accor Arena into hysterics.
You couldn’t have asked for a better overall effort from Gane, who answered questions about dealing with adverse moments, while still collecting a massive finish. He lobbied for another championship opportunity following the victory, and it’s honestly difficult to see what else there is for him at this moment.
Gane is an absolute handful, and if the heavyweight division can ever get moving and stay moving, we could be treated to some absolutely incredible fights.
Whittaker Cements Silver Medal Standing
Robert Whittaker dominated Marvin Vettori in the co-main event of the evening, stinging “The Italian Dream” with a diverse collection of shots throughout their 15-minute affair, making it clear he’s the No. 2 fighter in the middleweight division.
The first was close and the rest of the fight was one-sided, with Whittaker sniping at Vettori and doing well to avoid return fire. It was a classic effort from the former champion, who even mixed in a takedown late in the contest just to remind everyone that he’s got that in his back pocket as well.
Some questioned whether “Bobby Knuckles” was still focused on plying his trade in the 185-pound weight class following a second loss to Israel Adesanya earlier this year, and this contest stands as a resounding “Hell Yes!” from Whittaker. He was well ahead of Vettori over the second and third, and likely finishes any other contender with some of the shots he landed on Saturday evening.
The gap between Adesanya and Whittaker is narrower than the gap between Whittaker and the rest of the contenders, and you better believe the Australian will continue to try to do everything in his power to secure a third date with the champion.
Three Straight for Ascending Imavov
Paris-based middleweight Nassourdine Imavov pushed his winning streak to three with a hard-earned victory over Joaquin Buckley in a back-and-forth battle on the main card.
“The Sniper” dominated the first two rounds, battering Buckley in all phases and closing out the second round hunting for a finish. He couldn’t find a submission, and Buckley came out swinging for the fences in the third, looking to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. While Imavov faded down the stretch, Buckley’s gas tank started running empty as well, resulting in the local favourite collecting a clean sweep of the scorecards.
Imavov moves to 4-1 with the victory and continues to show promise in the ever-fluid middleweight ranks. The pace of this fight clearly took its toll on him, and that is something he’ll need to address going forward, but his length, his footwork, and his ability to fight in all phases continues to make him one to keep close tabs on in the 185-pound ranks.
Buckley remains a tough out with wrecking ball power, but his size limits him against much bigger fighters like Imavov, and unless he can find a way to address it, climbing beyond the middle of the pack in the middleweight ranks is going to be challenging.
Kopylov Drops Di Chirico
Roman Kopylov picked up his first UFC victory with style points, leaving Alessio Di Chirico face-down on the canvas just over a minute into the third round.
The Russian middleweight, who entered on a two-fight skid, looked crisp early, showing improved output and solid takedown defence. While he slowed a little as the fight progressed, he continued to land greater volume and more impactful blows before freezing the Italian along the fence early in the third. Kopylov let loose from there and Di Chirico collapse, landing with his face on the canvas.
Kopylov had looked overmatched in his first two UFC appearances, but dialled it up on Saturday, breaking into the win column and giving himself new life in the 185-pound weight class.
Gomis Gets a Debut Win
Frenchman William Gomis scored a majority decision win over Jarno Errens in a battle of newcomers on the UFC Paris main card, showing solid wrestling and good poise late in the fight to get the job done.
A finisher on the regional circuit, the 25-year-old was a little more reserved on Saturday, working takedowns and control positions rather than getting loose with his hands, feeling more secure on the canvas. He was almost too comfortable on the ground late in the fight, as Errens threw up a triangle choke, locked it up, and forced Gomis to defend into the final seconds of the fight. But the MMA Factory representative slowly worked free from danger, and secured the victory, pushing his winning streak to nine in the process.
Gomis has only lost to high-quality competition — Morgan Charriere and Salahdine Parnasse — and should be even better next time out, now that the first-time jitters and pressure of fighting at home are out of the way.
“There’s a New Boy at Featherweight”
Nathaniel Wood got his first featherweight win back in London in July, but he announced is presence as a potential factor in the division on Saturday, earning a unanimous decision win over Charles Jourdain with an outstanding all-around performance.
The former bantamweight prospect stung the French-Canadian with a clean right hand in the first, hit several lovely foot sweeps and trips throughout, and got the better of the “phone booth” exchanges for the majority of the bout, working at a torrid clip through to the end. He’d shown upside during his days in the 135-pound weight class, and has instantly established himself as someone to keep close tabs on now that he’s healthy and competing in the featherweight division.
Jourdain departs France in a tough spot — he’s 4-5-1 in the UFC and has dropped back-to-back fights, seven weeks apart, but he’s also an all-action, consistently entertaining fan favourite. He’s only 26, so there is still time to straighten things out, but he’s also starting to put himself under the gun by taking tough, competitive fights and coming up short.
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Preliminary Card Thoughts
Abus Magomedov literally wasted no time making an impact in his UFC debut, sending Dustin Stoltzfus to the Land of Winds and Ghosts in 19 seconds.
Here’s everything that transpired after the fight started: touch gloves, front kick to the face, uppercut to the jaw, smash, smash, smash, referee steps in.
The 32-year-old German was signed last year and showed why on Saturday, instantly establishing himself as an experienced fighter with obvious upside in the always fluid middleweight division. He’s now 25-4-1 for his career and good Lord did he look outstanding on Saturday.
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The fight between Nasrat Haqparast and John Makdessi went pretty much as expected, with Haqparast collecting the unanimous decision win, but doing little to really re-ignite excitement about his future prospects, at least for me.
Kelvin Gastelum’s smaller, international doppelgänger dropped Makdessi in the second round off a spinning backfist attempt, but faded in the third round, allowing “The Bull” to claw his way back into the fight. He earned the sweep of the scorecards to halt his two-fight slide, but as he said in his corner following the bout, “It wasn’t my best.”
Haqparast continues to a feel like a young fighter we all got too high on, too soon, myself very much included, and unlikely to reach the lofty heights that were initially projected for him.
*
Fares Ziam exhibited a ton of improvements in his first UFC appearance at home on Saturday, dominating every facet of the game against the debuting Michal Figlak.
The 25-year-old “Smile Killer” used his range and diversity to hurt Figlak on the feet, but it was the addition of quality grappling that really stood out, as he put the undefeated former Cage Warriors competitor on the deck multiple times. While Figlak worked to secure sweeps and find submissions, Ziam was always a step ahead, avoiding the threats before going back on the offensive.
Ziam has been a little inconsistent thus far in his UFC career, moving to 3-2 with the win, but looked better than ever in Paris, and is someone to keep close tabs on in the lightweight division going forward.
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Great moment for Benoit Saint-Denis on Saturday, as the first French athlete to step into the Octagon in Paris picked up a violent second-round stoppage win over Gabriel Miranda.
Originally scheduled to face Christos Giagos, the former French military man took a minute to settle into the fight and sharpen his focus, but once he did, Saint-Denis took over. He finished the first round unloading on Miranda on the canvas, busting up the Brazilian newcomer, who struggled back to his feet and looked wiped out walking back to his corner. When the second frame started, Saint-Denis made sure it didn’t last very long, swarming Miranda with heavy shots that put him back on the canvas and brought Jason Herzog in to stop the fight.
That’s now consecutive stoppage victories for Saint-Denis since dropping to lightweight following his rugged debut loss at welterweight against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos.
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Welcome to the UFC, Cristian Quinonez!
“Problema” put Khalid Taha out in just over three minutes, felling the German veteran with a sharp right hand just passed the midway point of the opening round. It was a beautiful step-off right hook that was set up through the round, as Quinonez patiently worked behind his jab and stayed out of trouble when the shorter, more suddenly powerful Taha pressed forward.
Great win for the DWCS 2021 grad.
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Good win for Stephanie Egger, who made the quick return following her “Who tapped? I didn’t tap!” loss to Mayra Bueno Silva last month to secure a second-round submission win over Argentinian newcomer Ailin Perez.
This went pretty much as forecasted, with Perez showing poor fight IQ by trying to tie up with the Swiss judoka and repeatedly getting put on the canvas, even though she had moments of success on the feet. While she managed to defend well throughout the first, she started fading in the second, and Egger made the most of it, taking her back down to the canvas. From there, the veteran worked to mount, transitioned to the back, and laced up the finish in the final seconds of the second round.
Quality rebound for Egger. Predictably underwhelming from the over-confident Perez.