UFC Paris 2023: Five things we learned
The UFC’s return to Paris was successful. The French MMA fans created an outstanding environment for fighting while the French fighters delivered impressive performances. All that’s left to do is discuss the results and what we learned from the impressive performances at UFC Paris.
Ciryl Gane gets back in the win column
At UFC Paris Ciryl Gane was able to get back in the win column as he knocked out Serghei Spivac in the second round.
For the entirety of the bout, Spivac struggled to find moments for entry and he shelled up with a high guard. Since Spivac spent the majority of the bout with his hands high, Gane was able to aggressively attack body shots while selectively picking moments to split the guard or swing around it. Ultimately, the accumulation of damage led to the stoppage.
Gane’s win at UFC Paris was a much-needed result. The French star left a sour taste in the mouths of many after looking poor in his most recent bout against Jones. In fairness, Jones is the GOAT. Gane was given some leeway for that loss, but he could not afford a second straight defeat. This victory prevented a slide down the ranking and kept him in the upper echelon of the heavyweight division.
Manon Fiorot makes the women’s flyweight title conversations difficult
Manon Fiorot walked away from UFC Paris with the best result possible–spoiling Rose Namajunas’ flyweight debut.
Fiorot was able to outstrike Namajunas with her jab and lead hook. In extension to that, she landed a few straights and kicks. The power advantage helped her as well. In total, it just felt like Fiorot was a step ahead of Najamunas all fight.
Fiorot’s victory adds to the confusion surrounding the women’s flyweight title. At the moment, two massive fights in the division have concluded who. Those bouts resulted in Fiorot’s UFC Paris victory and Erin Blanchfield’s impressive performance at UFC Singapore. Now, we wait for the rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko at UFC Noche.
Fiorot and Blanchfield are now in a battle for the No. 1 contender position. It is an unfortunate circumstance because they each deserve a title opportunity. This will certainly become a point of discussion once UFC Noche is in the review mirror. If it were up to me, Blanchfield would have the next title fight, but we will how this situation progresses.
Benoit Saint-Denis is a superhuman
At UFC Paris, Benoit Saint-Denis proved that he does not follow the laws of physics. The former member of the French Special Forces put his physical advantages on display and finished Thiago Moises in the second round.
Saint-Denis pushed at a rapid pace with aggressive striking and effective grappling. On the feet, he threw massive kicks to the body and backed Moises down with impactful shots. Once the fight was on the ground, he unleashed an absurdly long string of ground-and-pound that finished the fight.
Saint-Denis is a very unique fighter. If any other fighter attempted to fight with his style, recklessness, or pace, they would probably be awful. Although, it works for Saint-Denis because he is ridiculously tough, has an iron chin, and great cardio. In this fight, Moises landed quite a few massive counters that should have backed Saint-Denis up or even knocked him out. Instead, they looked like they did not even land.
Volkan Oezdemir fights off the debutant
The UFC Paris main card featured a strange bout between Volkan Oezdemir and Bogdan Guskov. The strangeness of this bout comes from the questions surrounding each fighter. Is Volkan Oezdemir washed? How will Guskov look in his UFC debut? Ultimately, those questions resulted in Oezdemir earning a first-round submission after hurting Guskov on the feet.
In this fight, Oezdemir was able to hurt Guskov with a nice counter shot. Afterward, she sank in a rear-naked choke to finish this fight.
In all honesty, I still have questions about these fighters. I want to know how Oezdemir looks against a ranked light heavyweight and I want to see Guskov fight an entry-level fighter. Once we see that, the status of each fighter will be easier to grasp.
Morgan Charriere proves his hype is legit
If you watched the latest episode of the Vendetta Sports Media Daily Show, I concluded the episode with a short rant explaining why Charriere was a fighter that fans had to watch at UFC Paris. In his bout against Manolo Zecchini, Charriere looked great en route to a first-round knockout.
Charriere put his counterstriking on display against Zecchini. As Zecchini pressured with strikes, Charriere unloaded with big counters. Ultimately, a kick to the body hurt Zecchini which allowed Charriere to finish the bout with another kick to the body and ground and pound.
The Charriere hype is legitimate. At 27-years-old, keep an eye out for “The Last Pirate” as he looks to climb the UFC featherweight rankings.
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