After some fighters dropping out and the UFC shuffling the deck, featherweight William Gomis was paired up with newcomer Yanis Ghemmouri at UFC Paris on Saturday.
Ghemmouri, who had not lost since 2015, was originally paired up with Caolan Loughran at the event. Gomis for his part had not suffered a defeat since 2016, with 10 wins heading into Saturday.
Somebody’s streak was coming to an end. But the finish itself was anything but satisfying, with a questionable non-call by the ref following a low blow ending the night.
Both kickboxers traded kicks to start the fight. Gomis was pulling more on the trigger throwing a ton of those kicks in fact. He was throwing a lot to the lead leg and stabbing with the oblique kicks. Gomis was mixing it up so beautifully with his array of kicks. He was just flowing out there keeping Ghemmouri at his preferred range. The round ended with a big string of punches and a landed head kick from Gomis.
In round two Gomis made impact with the straight left and the heavy leg kicks. Ghemmouri was getting picked apart at range eating a lot of heavy blows. Taking so much damage Ghemmouri, the kickboxer, shot in for a takedown. He got his head trapped in a guillotine but nothing came from it. Ghemmouri was in control in the clinch but eventually, Gomis got out. With a minute left, they went back to throwing a lot of kicks. Gomis did end the round with a spinning kick to the body that landed.
Both guys picked up the action to start the final round. Gomis was making it difficult at range so Ghemmouri clinched back up. Gomis circled out and landed a hard leg kick. Ghemmouri went back to the takedown but never got close to putting Gomis on his back. Gomis landed a kick that was right at the belt line and was really close to the groin. With Ghemmouri turning and walking away, instead of a timeout the ref stopped the fight for a TKO victory for Gomis. Ghemmouri appeared unaware, and replays showed the kick landing on the belt line, but jerking the cup upwards. If not low, it likely gave Ghemmouri a good jostling, and he stared in disbelief upon realizing he had lost the fight.
Following the bout, Gomis said via translator that after ten years as a professional, he knew where to land his kicks — besides which, it wasn’t his call. Per the UFC Paris broadcast, review officials deemed the kick legal.
Official Result: William Gomis def. Yanis Ghemmouri by TKO (body kick), Round 3, 2:20
