Author: Chandra Moulee Das
Main card
Heavyweight fight – Ciryl Gane (France) v Serghei Spivac (Moldova)
3 out of 4 of Ciryl Gane’s TKO’s in the UFC have involved back of the head strikes. This man must REALLY not like his opponents 😂#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/ZJYrt5PLTS
– MMA Villain (@MMAVillain) September 2, 2023
The highly anticipated heavyweight main event turned out to be a one-sided contest. Ciryl Gane managed to keep the fight on the feet, despite Serghei Spivac’s persistent attempts to get her to the ground. Throughout the fight, “Bon Gamin” battered Spivac with punches, securing victory by technical knockout in the second round after a devastating final sequence of blows.
Women’s flyweight – Manon Fiorot (France) vs. Rose Namajunas (USA)
In Saturday’s co-main event, Fiorot faced two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas with a possible title shot at stake. The French star demonstrated a superior work rate and striking skills, outclassing Namajunas over three rounds and securing a convincing unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 and ultimately recording the most significant win of her UFC career in Paris.
Lightweight fight РBenǫt Saint-Denis (France) v THIAGO MOISES (BRAZIL)
Saint Denis X Moises = DOG FIGHT #UFCParis pic.twitter.com/MDJCdITJrY
– Mr Estrogen (@MrEstrogen) September 2, 2023
Saint-Denis fought a tough battle at lightweight against Thiago Moises, eventually tagging the Brazilian’s face and unleashing a barrage of punches to secure a technical knockout victory at 4:44 of the second round on Saturday at the Accor Arena.
Saint-Denis has continued to impress since moving down to lightweight, securing his fourth consecutive finish. He immediately caught the eye of the loser of the fight between Rafael Fiziev and Mateusz Gamrot, promising to take the title to Paris.
Featherweight fight – William Gomis (France) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri (France)
William Gomis got his first finish in the UFC, albeit amid some controversy, against Yanis Ghemmouri in an all-French fight. Ghemmouri entered the scene after Brazilian Lucas Almeida withdrew from the card due to injury and was updated on social media.
Gomis and Yanis Ghemmouri engaged in two rounds of kickboxing-like exchanges of technical blows. However, in the third round, Gomis landed a body kick on Ghemmouri, who showed visible signs of pain. Although Ghemmouri claimed it was a low blow, the referee considered the body kick legal. When Ghemmouri was unable to continue fighting and turned around, the referee declared Gomis the winner by technical knockout at 2:20 of the 3rd round.
Preliminaries
Women’s bantamweight – Zarah Fairn (France) v JACQUELINE CAVALCANTI (BRAZIL)
Jacqueline Cavalcanti is the winner by Unanimous Decision #UFCParis pic.twitter.com/baka3dpwHr
– Hayden Jones (@HaydenJ66362473) September 2, 2023
French veteran Zarah Fairn faced her fourth attempt at securing her first UFC victory, but failed to do so as she suffered a decisive defeat to former LFA welterweight champion Jacqueline Cavalcanti in the show’s opening fight. All of the judges’ unanimous scorecards indicated 30-27 in Cavalcanti’s favor, pushing Fairn’s professional record to 6-7 since 2013 and she remains winless at 0-4 since her UFC debut at UFC 243 in 2019.
Bantamweight – Farid Basharat vs. KLEYDSON RODRIGUES (BRAZIL)
🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫🇦🇫
ALHAMDULILLAH. ALLAH U AKBAR.@faridbofficial just MAKHACHEVED Kleydson Rodrigues of #chuteboxe. Remained patient on top with some elbows and then capitalized on the opposition. And what’s with these guys tapping so quickly 😜#UFCParis pic.twitter.com/aZOHwslCEo– MECU9 (@MECU999) September 2, 2023
Farid Basharat, the undefeated bantamweight, maintained his impeccable record by showing off his wrestling skills, securing an early takedown over Brazilian challenger Kleydson Rodrigues. Basharat passed Rodrigues’ guard and took the opportunity to apply an arm-triangle choke in the first round, forcing Rodrigues to submit.