UFC Fight Night Paris was a high-charged event with something of an anti-climactic finish. In the main event, to the chagrin of French fans, Renato Moicano scored a TKO win over Benoit Saint-Denis.
After a brutal first round, thanks to Moicano’s wrestling and ground and pound, Saint-Denis was bloodied, and both of his eyes were swollen. Amazingly, Saint-Denis escaped the assault in the first round and came back to win the second frame.
Still, the Octagon-side doctor stopped the fight when Saint-Denis failed a vision test before the third round began.
In the co-main event, Nassourdine Imavov won a key middleweight matchup. After a poor first round that saw Allen control the Octagon, Imavov responded, winning the last two rounds to solidify his Top-5 standing in the middleweight division.
Here is a look at all of the bonus winners from Paris.
UFC Fight Night Paris Bonus Winners
There was no Fight of the Night, but Chris Duncan, Fares Ziam, Morgan Charriere, and Bryan Battle earned $50,000 performance bonuses for their finishes.
You can see a bit more about their wins below.
UFC Fight Night Paris Main Card
Here is a look at the results. All the finishes are in bold and the highlights are included.
- Renato Moicano def. Benoît Saint Denis via TKO at 5:00 of Round 3
- Nassourdine Imavov def. Brendan Allen via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
- William Gomis defeats Joanderson Brito via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Bryan Battle defeats Kevin Jousset via TKO at 3:47 of Round 2
The stoppage from Herb Dean might have been a tad late in this one as Battle unleashed a complete onslaught on Jousset with nothing coming back for 10 seconds. In any case, Battle wins and continues his rise.
- Morgan Charriere defeats Gabriel Miranda via KO at 0:27 of Round 2
Charriere has star potential, and he showed a bit of it in his KO finish over Miranda. Athletically, Charriere is as gifted as anyone you’ll find and he showed off his explosive
- Fares Ziam defeats Matt Frevola via KO at 2:59 of Round 3
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more vicious knockout with a knee from the standing back transition. Frevola didn’t protect against Ziam’s knee and he paid for it.
UFC Paris Preliminary Card
- Ion Cutelaba defeats Ivan Erslan via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Oumar Sy defeats Jung Da-woon via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
- Ľudovit Klein defeats Roosevelt Roberts via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Taylor Lapilus def. Vince Morales via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
- Ailín Pérez def. Daria Zheleznyakova via submission at 3:52 of Round 1 (Arm-Triangle Choke)
Perez missed weight, but her ground game was masterful as she secured the easy submission victory over the overmatched Zheleznyakova. Perez also hit her opponent with the disrespectful twerk taunt following the finish.
- Daniel Barez defeats Victor Altamirano via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti defeats Nora Cornolle via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Chris Duncan defeats Bolaji Oki via submission at 3:34 of Round 1 (Guillotine)
Oki had gone out from a guillotine, but the referee didn’t recognize it. Duncan had to alert him for the fight to be stopped. It was an explosive way to begin the event.