For the second coming of the UFC in Paris, nine French fighters were on the bill for the evening. The results are very positive for the Blues, led by their spearheads Ciryl Gane and Manon Fiorot, both winners of their fights. Here are the results :
Forced to bounce back after a quick defeat against Jon Jones six months ago, Ciryl Gane won with style against Moldovan Serghei Spivac. The standard bearer of French MMA won by knockout in the second round. He is back in the race for the heavyweight belt and believes he has proven that his failed fight against Jones was just a mistake.
Another spearhead of MMA in France, Manon Fiorot also won during the co-main event of the evening. The Niçoise defeated by unanimous decision the American Rose Namajunas, former double UFC strawweight champion. Her next fight should see her face the winner of the duel between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, who will fight for the flyweight title in two weeks.
Entering the arena as usual to the notes of “Seine-Saint-Denis Style” by NTM, Benoît Saint-Denis faced his toughest opponent so far, the Brazilian Thiago Moises. The former soldier, who has just signed a new contract with the UFC, set fire to Bercy and now has four victories in four fights. He ended the night in the hospital with a foot injury, but still opens the doors to the top 15 in the lightweight division.
The first 100% French confrontation in UFC history, between William Gomis and Yanis Ghemmouri, ended in controversy. During the third round, Ghemmouri interrupted the rally complaining of an illegal blow in the games. But the referee felt that Gomis’ middle kick was valid and therefore declared Gomis the winner, a decision that caused public misunderstanding.
Expected in the UFC for several years, Morgan Charrière signed an explosive debut in the most prestigious MMA league in the world. The former champion of the British organization Cage Warriors delighted his fans by knocking out his opponent, the Italian Manolo Zecchini, in the first round.
Known to the general public for his role as an MMA consultant for RMC Sport, Lapilus returned to the UFC after a first stint in 2015-2016. Seven years later, the French fought hard against Irishman Caolan Loughran and won by unanimous decision. The one who sounded the first “Marseillaise” of the evening greeted “the best audience in the world”.
For her UFC debut, Cornolle, a kickboxing and muay-thai specialist, was taken to the ground several times by her opponent and proved that she also had resources in the fight. She won by unanimous decision against the experienced Panamanian Joselyne Edwards.
First Frenchwoman to come into play, Fairn lost against the Portuguese Jacqueline Cavalcanti, fourteen years her junior at the start of the evening. With now four defeats in as many fights, the former dancer sees her future in the UFC compromised.