UFC Paris was an eventful tournament that left the audience on the edge of their seat, wanting more. The Fight Night featured some entertaining fights in Axxor Arean in Paris.
Renato Miocano faced Benoit Saint-Denis in the UFC Paris main event, while in the co-main event, Nassourdine Imavov battled Brendan Allen in a middleweight clash.
Miocano has had much to say following this matchup. He promised to deliver a spectacular performance by ruining the Frenchman. Moicano fulfilled his promises by putting on a stellar ground-and-pound action. He came in hot with an early takedown and landed savage elbow shots that left a cut on on Denis’s right eye. Denis recovered quickly by round two and managed to stand his ground against some of the takedowns and even landed some vicious kicks. Unfortunately, the fighters could not continue through the third round as it became impossible for Denis to see through his eyes.
The match came to a close due to a doctor’s stoppage, making it Moicano’s sixth stoppage win in his last seven fights. The fighter revealed he hurt his shoulder three weeks before the fight but didn’t want to pull out of the main event fight. Fortunately for him, the injury didn’t hinder him from defeating his opponent. Moicano’s latest win has stirred him up, and the fighter already has his next opponent in mind.
“Next, I want easy money,” Moicano said after the win. “Paddy Pimblett, easy money. Dan Hooker, easy money. Don’t come up with bullsh*t fights. Don’t come up with guys that are tough. I want easy fights. I just beat a hell of an athlete everybody was talking about, Benoit Saint Denis. But guess what, Money Moicano is the man tonight.”
In the co-main event, Allen came in with a hard kick, went on for a clinch, and dragged Imavov to the floor. The two continued to wrestle on the floor, with Imavov moving toward the fence and Allen attempting a half-guard. Allen landed a big shot and maintained the upper hand until round one came to an end.
Allen continued round two with a one-two combo, but Imavov does an accidental eye poke. The fight continued with a hard right and takedown from Allen, but Imavov did a sprawl and avoided the takedown. Imavov reverses the move, ends up on top, and pummels Allen with heavy ground and pound that he could barely block.
Round three saw Imavov gain momentum. He came in hot with a stiff jab. Allen tried for a takedown, but Imavov went into a sprawl. He again gained the top position and hammered Allen with savage blows. Allen managed to push him off, but Imavov pushed his legs aside and goes in for a ground and pound. Allen scrambled to his feet and tried to regain control. The two traded blows till the round came to an end with a unanimous decision win for Imavov. The end results was disappointing for Allen as it spelled the end of his seven fight winning streaks.
“It wasn’t my night tonight,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “Made bad decisions. Bad adjustments. I did something wrong and hat’s off to Imavov. It was his night, it wasn’t mine. It sucks. I’m disappointed in myself. But luckily I’m young, I’ll be back. Try to be better. Thanks to everyone for the support, thanks for the love. I still think I’ll be champion one day but just another long journey to the top again.”
“A game of ups and downs and shoulda woulda coulda’s,” Allen said. “Fought like shit and lost a close decision to a top five guy in his home. I will be back even better next March or April.”
UFC Paris also paid off for a couple of fighters who had a brutal finishes. Chris Duncan, Fres Ziam, Bryan Battle and Morgan Charriere all earned $50,000 for their wins.
Main Card
Renato Moicano def. Benoît Saint Denis via TKO (doctor’s stoppage): R2
Nassourdine Imavov def. Brendan Allen via unanimous decision
William Gomis def. Joanderson Brito via split decision
Bryan Battle def. Kevin Jousset via TKO: R2
Morgan Charriere def. Gabriel Miranda via KO: R2
Farès Ziam def. Matt Frevola via KO: R3
Preliminary Card
Ion Cuțelaba def. Ivan Erslan via split decision
Oumar Sy def. Da Woon Jung via unanimous decision
L’udovit Klein def. Roosevelt Roberts via unanimous decision
Taylor Lapilus def. Vince Morales via unanimous decision
Ailín Pérez def. Dariya Zheleznykova via submission (arm-triangle choke): R1
Daniel Barez def. Victor Altamirano via unanimous decision
Jacqueline Cavalcanti def. Nora Cornolle via split decision
Chris Duncan def. Bolaji Oki via submission (rear-naked choke): R1
