A fight with some unexpected heat behind it, UFC featherweights William Gomis and Joanderson Brito settled the beef at UFC Paris on Saturday.
Gomis (13-2) fights in his native country for the third time in his UFC career. 3-0 in the UFC with wins over Jarno Errens, Francis Marshall and Yanis Ghemmouri set him up for a date with Brito in Paris.
Brito (17-3-1) took on Gomis riding a five-fight win streak with wins over Andre Fili, Lucas Alexander, Westin Wilson, Jonathan Pearce and Jack Shore, a win at UFC Paris would set him up for a ranking.
Brazil’s Joanderson Brito started the night on an impressive finishing streak, having ended five straight fights inside the distance. Gomis had been stopped just once in his pro career, back in 2016 by Morgan Charriere, who coincidentally had won earlier in the night.
With Brito on the hunt off the opening bell, stalking Gomis, the French fighter wisely took the fight to the cage. There, he looked for a takedown but it was Brito getting in control and landing it. That didn’t last long as Brito immediately lost position, allowing Gomis to get on top. Gomis went to work from inside the guard, and would spend plenty of time on top before Brito finally escaped up just as his opponent looked to pass guard.
The bulk of the remainder of the round would play out on the feet, with Brito driving the action, and Gomis taking a few wild swings in response late before one final takedown.
Brito would clinch up with Gomis and land a takedown about 30 seconds into the second round. With Brito in side control, Gomis was trapped lying parallel to the fence. Tje Brazilian fired some knees to the body, then looked to take the back, winding up in half-guard in a three-quarter position. That allowed Brito to lock up an arm-triangle choke, but he didn’t have it. Instead Brito readjusted, with Gomis initially giving a thumbs up to the ref.
Brito would hold onto that position for a good while, then walk down Gomis when they did go back to the feet. Gomis wound up with his back to the cage, just over a minute on the clock. Brito clinched up again, but ultimately they’d head to round three.
Stand-up took over early in the third, with Brito utilizing kicks along with his hands. He was marching forward, Gomis countering, with the French fighter clinching up about 90 seconds or so in. That slowed the pace, but they wouldn’t stay there long. Gomis would end up firing a front kick, then another kick to the body as Brito again played the role of aggressor. They would end up clinching again, Brito controlling from the back, firing knees, and trying to drag Gomis down. As time ticked away, Brito was at risk of losing his finish streak, but he was never really at risk of losing the fight. What looked to be a comfortable two-round lead heading into the third for Brito somehow wound up a split decision win by Gomis, with opinion online decidedly favoring Brito in face of two 29-28 scores awarded to William Gomis.
Official Result: William Gomis def. Joanderson Brito by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
