Matthieu Duclos made his promotional debut at UFC Paris on Saturday, taking on Luis Felipe Dias in middleweight action.
France’s Duclos had gone 0-1 for both Bellator MMA and on Dana White’s Contender Series, but had picked up the Hexagone MMA middleweight title on France’s regional circuit, winning four straight prior to being called up to the big show.
2025 Contender Series winner Dias had won his own UFC debut in his last outing.
Round 1: Duclos came out looking to heavily pressure Dias and keep him backed against the cage. While doing so, Duclos was looking to stay at range and take advantage of his jab and reach. Dias looked to blitz forward with winging hooks, finding success when forcing Duclos back and landing some big punches. In between these blitzes, Duclos would maintain control and pressure, but was clearly uncomfortable when blitzed. After Duclos landed a combination, Dias landed a big knee and then rushed in again with a barrage of hooks that caught Duclos. After settling in the clinch, Dias worked for a takedown but came up short. When Duclos broke off, Dias looked like he was slowing down. Duclos targeted the body with a teep, causing Dias to rush in with a 2-3 combination. As he landed the hook, Duclos fired off a lightning-fast left hook counter.
The commentators couldn’t even tell what happened in the moment, but Duclos landed the left hook flush on the chin, and Dias dropped like a sack of potatoes. Duclos was quick to follow up for the Round one knockout win in his UFC debut.
Official Result: Matthieu Duclos def. Luis Felipe Dias by knockout (punches), Round 1, 4:35
