What’s next for “Bon Gamin?” We gaze into our matchmaking crystal ball for that and the rest of the UFC Paris main card winners.

Ciryl Gane

French star Gane got back on the winning track with a dominant performance and second-round TKO of Serghei Spivac on Saturday. Gane’s takedown defense was only tested a few times but it held up in each instance as Serghei telegraphed his attempts and had trouble entering the range that Ciryl kept so masterfully.

There are two main options for the number two heavyweight in the UFC next. He could fight Tom Aspinall in another installment of the heated rivalry between France and England. Aspinall might be up for a title shot soon if the winner of Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic retires vacates the belt after their fight in November. So, the better option is probably the winner of #5 Curtis Blaydes vs #9 Jailton Almeida. Both fighters prefer to fight on the ground, with Blaydes having a traditional American wrestling background and Jailton being a jiu-jitsu master. Gane held up vs Spivac, but after the blunders against Ngannou and Jones, more testing of his takedown defense is required.

Gane’s Next Fight: Winner of Blaydes/Almeida

Manon Fiorot

The third-ranked women’s flyweight got the biggest win of her career at UFC Paris as she outclassed former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Rose could not get into the fight as Fiorot used her length and sharp striking to cruise to a decision. Fiorot has now won all six of her UFC fights and could face the winner of Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko 2 in two week’s time. Grasso won their first fight, so if Valentina can strike back that would likely necessitate a trilogy, leaving Fiorot waiting in the wings.

Still, she has more than earned her shot at gold. If she has to wait then she could face off fellow shooting star Erin Blanchfield, who just beat Taila Santos in a close decision in Singapore, but the title shot makes more sense for Manon at this point.

Fiorot’s Next Fight: Winner of Grasso/Shevchenko

Benoit Saint-Denis

Saint-Denis is a budding star and a seriously nasty action fighter. He got his fourth win, all of which have come by finish, in a row at UFC Paris and seemed to be the home crowd’s favorite fighter of the entire night. This win over Thiago Moises is the biggest of his career – Moises did have a ranking at one point after all — and Saint-Denis can likely expect a ranked opponent next.

Benoit called for a fight against the loser of Fiziev vs Gamrot in his post-fight interview, but that may be jumping the gun as they are both top-ten lightweights. A more appropriate opponent might be fellow finisher Jalin Turner, who has potential but finds himself on a two-fight losing streak after the run that got him a ranking. Both men would be seriously tested in this fight and it would be a treat for the fans.

Saint-Denis’ Next Fight: Jalin Turner

Volkan Oezdemir

Ninth-ranked light-heavyweight Volkan Oezdemir dispatched short notice replacement Bogdan Guskov with relative ease at UFC Paris. It must be a relief for the former title challenger to get back in the win column as he had lost three of his last four going into this fight.

Oezdemir’s original opponent for the Paris card was Azamat Murzakanov, the undefeated Russian sambo specialist. Murzakanov is still one of the brighter prospects in the division and deserves to fight up. Meanwhile, despite beating Guskov it still makes sense for Oezdemir to fight down given Bogdan was just a debuting fighter in the promotion.

Oezdemir’s Next Fight: Azamat Murzakanov

William Gomis

Gomis was clearly ahead in his bout against Yanis Ghemourri at UFC Paris before a bizarre referee call caused the fight to be called a TKO after a questionable groin strike against Ghemourri. Still, a win is a win, Gomis was likely about to prevail anyways, and this victory is his third in a row since joining the promotion, giving him one of the hotter streaks at 145lbs.

There are several featherweights with potential who are gunning for a shot at the rankings, so Gomis should face one of them to narrow the field of contention. In three weeks Charles Jourdain and Ricardo Ramos will face off in a battle of flashy strikers. Gomis could fight the winner of that bout, who would be on a two-fight winning streak at that point, and it would likely prove to be both exciting and meaningful for the featherweight division.

Gomis’ Next Fight: Winner of Jourdain/Ramos

Morgan Charriere

The man with one of the best nicknames in MMA, Morgan ‘The Last Pirate’ Charriere, got style points as he picked up a win in his UFC debut via body kicks against Manolo Zecchini. The former Cage Warriors standout has a bright future as a popular fighter in his home country while the UFC looks to continue its push into the French market.

Charriere is just twenty-seven and can be afford to be built up carefully for the time being. A fighter like Austin Lingo, who is a well-rounded fighter but has a 2-3 record in the UFC, would be a sensible opponent for Morgan’s sophomore effort. If he continues to put on shows like this then he will be looking towards the rankings in the near future.

Charriere’s Next Fight: Austin Lingo

The post What’s Next: UFC Paris Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Whta’s next for Spivac and the losing side of Saturday’s UFC Paris main card? Read on.

Serghei Spivac

Spivac’s judoka background was made to look completely impotent as he had almost no success in two rounds against Ciryl Gane before being stopped. ‘The Polar Bear’ could not set up his takedown attempts because of Gane’s distance management and he was out-struck until being stopped by the onslaught of blows.

The seventh-ranked Spivac will now look to regain his momentum against an opponent nearer to himself in the rankings like Marcin Tybura. Eleventh-ranked Tybura has a well-rounded skillset that has seen him beat wrestlers and grapplers in the past, making him a good test for if Spivac should stay in the top ten of the heavyweight division.

Spivac’s Next Fight: Marcin Tybura

Rose Namajunas

‘Thug’ Rose’s unsuccessful attempt to move up to flyweight now leaves her in an awkward position. Will she move back down to strawweight, which is perhaps more appropriate for her size, or will she keep trying to achieve double champ status by staying at 125lbs? Given her two victories over current champ Zhang Weili, it makes more sense to go back down to the division where she is one of the greatest.

At 115lbs the logical fight for Namajunas is Amanda Lemos, who is also coming off of a recent loss, for the title no less. Lemos is a powerful striker and will test how close to the top of her game Rose still is after the first losing streak of her career. A win could put Namajunas right back into a title fight in the division against the winner of a potential Weili vs Yan Xiaonan championship bout.

Namajunas’ Next Fight: Amanda Lemos

Thiago Moises

Moises was TKO’d for only the second time in his career when he faced Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC Paris. He could not stand up to the barrage from the home crowd favorite past two rounds. This fight, and his past performances, solidify Moises as one of the premier gatekeepers at lightweight.

Moises should face another rising lightweight who may hit the rankings soon, like Nazim Sadykhov or the winner of Elves Brener vs. Esteban Ribovics. To avoid the possibility of fighting a fellow countryman, Sadykhov makes more sense at this time after his win over Terrance McKinney. But if Ribovics, an Argentinian, were to beat Brener then that fight would make sense too as part of the inter-country rivalry between the neighbors, Brazil and Argentina.

Moises’ Next Fight: Nazim Sadykhov

Bogdan Guskov

Guskov may have lost his UFC debut in Paris but it was against a ranked light heavyweight who is a former title challenger. The fact that he fought at all is a win for Bogdan since it got him to the big show. Now he should fight another 205lb’er who is new in their UFC career.

Turkish fighter Ibo Aslan recently won his fight on Dana White’s Contender Series, earning a contract in the process with his first round finish. Guskov and Aslan seem well-matched and both have serious knockout power, making them a smart fight to make next.

Guskov’s Next Fight: Ibo Aslan

Yanis Ghemourri

The ending to the fight was definitely bizarre but no matter how you look at it, Yanis Ghemourri is now 0-1 in the UFC. In the lower weight classes all the opponents are difficult, but Ghemourri has to get a win soon in order to keep his job. His fight at UFC Paris was originally scheduled to be at bantamweight against Caolan Loughran, so its likely that Yanis will move back down to 135lbs next.

Loughran also lost his fight at UFC Paris, so there is no reason not to reschedule that bout, especially given the harsh words the Irishman had for French MMA. Taylor Lapilus already made Loughran eat his words, but if Ghemourri can beat Caolan as well then he would really be doing a service to his country.

Ghemourri’s Next Fight: Caolan Loughran

Manolo Zecchini

Italian fighter Manolo Zecchini continued the struggles his country has had in the UFC as he lost to Morgan Charriere in the first round due to body kicks. With where Zecchini is at now, he should probably fight a debuting fighter, perhaps one who just earned a contract as the new season of the Contender Series is in full swing.

Two weeks ago the undefeated Hyder Amil won his fight and a contract to improve to 8-0 as a professional. A fighter like Zecchini who is all volume and action would test a somewhat inexperienced, but very talented, fighter like Amil. As for Manolo, he really needs a win to get some job security, but there are no easy fights in the UFC featherweight division.

Zecchini’s Next Fight: Hyder Amil

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By the end of the fight, McKee had been battered and was showing obvious signs on damage on his face. Loosa (10-3) spoke to the toughness of his opponent following the fight, addressing a sequence in the second round where it felt as if a finish might have been possible.

“Yeah, I really thought I was going to finish him in the second. But Rhys is tough, very tough,” Loosa told Cageside Press and other media outlets. “I really thought I was going to finish him, but I wasn’t going to finish him so we went to the third, and it is what it is.”

At one point, McKee appeared to have Loosa himself hurt. “I don’t know exactly what happened, I think that was a head butt,” suggested Loosa on that front. “And yeah, he hurt me a little bit, but I was still in the fight, so I was able to see what was happening. Yeah he hurt me a little bit, but it’s okay.”

Come the scorecards, there was no apprehension on the part of Ange Loosa. “Oh I knew I won, 100%. I dominated the fight.”

The fight was Loosa’s first in just over a year, no doubt making the victory that much sweeter.

“That was a tough year for me,” the Swiss fighter stated. “I want to be back before the end of the year, so I really hope the UFC is going to give me something. I want to be active as much as possible.”

Asked what aspect of his game he was most proud of in the fight, Loosa explained that “I knew I was going to be able to bring the fight everywhere. So I was like testing my skills, seeing where I could bring the fight. I think I did that pretty well. I was winning in the striking, I was winning on the ground so I’m proud of everything about this fight.”

Watch the full UFC Paris post-fight press conference with Ange Loosa above.

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Charreire (19-9-1), who made a name for himself in Cage Warriors, ended the night of fellow newcomer Manolo Zecchini early care of some nasty body kicks, and left an impression — on more than just Zecchini’s liver.

A star on the regional circuit in Europe, Charriere now feels like he’s arrived on the global stage.

“Now I feel like a world star. Like for real. I was like ‘come on!’ It’s something indescribable,” Charriere told Cageside Press and other media outlets following the fight. “I’ve worked so much just to have the people that follow me, and to know that they are going to see me, it’s a dream come true.”

“I made everything perfect for them, and for me,” he added. “I’m really happy that it played out like this.”

Asked about his approach coming into the fight, Charriere explained that “the game plan was just to circle around him on the right, for me, and don’t get caught by his right hand. And just feel his timing, touch him with the jab, touch him, touch him, and just read everything. Because I have great eyes.” Watching tape on Zecchini, added Charriere, “I just felt like maybe going with something else other than the game plan, I don’t know.”

“When the fight started, after the two minutes, I just saw he had just a big right hand that he was throwing to knock me out with.” That told Charriere that he could start throwing his kicks. “Just don’t get caught on the kick, and keep my hands high” were his thoughts. “When I just threw my first hard kick ot the liver, that’s a kick that I like, I trained a lot on it but I never used it in a fight [before] now, so I just have a thing like this that I keep in my pocket for some guys, and I touched him right away. He couldn’t fake me, I’d see it, so I just threw two more, and then just took my time, don’t go into something hard, and that’s it.”

While he hadn’t shown those kicks in the fight before, Charriere knew how good they were. “My kicks are hard, really hard. I have really hard kicks that can hurt people, and I know it.” Charriere’s coach has complained about those devastating kicks in the past, in fact having to deal with them in training. “I knew my kick was so powerful that even if you put your arm [up], I’d break your arm or hit your liver. So that’s what I did. I just threw two or three more, he was already in pain, so he couldn’t block, couldn’t do nothing.”

Watch the full UFC Paris post-fight press conference with Morgan Charriere above.

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Arguably, however, the all-French featherweight fight between William Gomis and Yanis Ghemmouri had a weirder finish than most. After landing a kick on the belt line, Gomis was awarded a TKO victory when Ghemmouri turned his back on the action. Ghemmouri believed the kick to be low — he immediately reacted — and walked away from the fight looking for relief, no doubt expecting the ref to call him.

Instead, the ref waved off the fight as the ailing Ghemmouri could only watch in disbelief. Technically, a fighter turning their back and disengaging from an opponent is grounds for a referee stoppage, but rarely does it happen — refs tend to give a fair amount of leeway when fighters signal low blows, though that is not a hard-and-fast rule.

Weird as it was, it was not a weird finish in the eyes of William Gomis, who told Cageside Press and other media outlets following the fight that “It’s not weird, because for me, it’s just a middle kick. And we can see that in the [replay]. For me it’s just a stoppage. I’m not a referee, but if the referee says it’s a stoppage, it’s a stoppage.”

The kick did appear to land on the belt line, with replays showing Gomis’ foot sort of dragging the trunks of Ghemmouri up. It may have been a glancing blow, though there’s little doubt Ghemmouri felt it.

Gomis for his part feels the kick was clean.

“Yeah,” replied Gomis when asked if he believed the kick landed above the belt. “Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.”

Regardless, the French fighter, who improved to 13-2 with the victory, felt he had the fight in hand anyway. “For me, I have two rounds, and I will win,” he stated. The 26-year old now sits on an 11-fight win streak.

Watch the full UFC Paris post-fight press conference with William Gomis above.

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“We’re hugely grateful for the response that’s happened here in France,” Shaw told media outlets including Cageside Press following Saturday’s UFC Paris. “I think last time we were here in Paris, 70% of the tickets were bought by people outside Paris, which shows that love for MMA is all around the country. So we’re thrilled, we couldn’t be happier with the way that things played out.”

Shaw added that in a phone call to colleagues back in Las Vegas, he was told those watching could tell how loud the French fans were on the broadcast, with cheering and chants and singing. “It made a really powerful statement. Will other European countries rally around that? I’m sure they will in time, but this is a pretty special situation right now.”

Which means that the UFC ideally will keep France as an annual destination, much like England.

“Yeah, we’d love to. We said for many years as we were going through the legalization process and meeting with different constituents around the country, this is a destination we want to be in every year.”

Next year, however, could be “a different story with the Olympics and Para-Olympics which goes really through September, which is typically when we’re here,” noted Shaw. “So it’s going to be a bit of a different puzzle for us next year, but absolutely it’s top of the list for us to come here every year.”

That could also mean expanding outside of Paris, where the UFC made its debut in 2022. Both shows to date have been held in the city’s Accor Arena.

“Yes. We’ve had a lot of conversations especially this week about the other destinations we could go. And if we’re able to increase the output for France by more than just one event, there are a few different cities that we would consider,” said Shaw. “We talked about Marseilles, which I think would be a good destination, and there’s a few others that are on the list. No decisions yet, but actually we talked about that a lot this week. So who knows. We’ll get the events schedule sorted out for 2024, and we’ll get back to you.”

The stunning showing by French fighters on Saturday makes it easy to see the sort of success other European fighters could have at home. Ilia Topuria stands out, with ties to all of Spain, Germany, and Georgia.

Seeing fighters like Topuria break out does motivate the promotion to target new territories, admitted Shaw. “Yeah. The flat answer is, it does. Every time there’s some breakout performance or someone seems to be climbing the ranks, Dana [White, UFC President]’s like ‘we’ve got to go to that country.’ We’ve got to take advantage. It’s one of the reasons we had the PPV with Leon in March. It’s like, we’ve got an opportunity to take an athlete to their home country at a point in their career which we can make the greatest impact.” Shaw also noted that, since the UFC doesn’t do PPVs on European time, such a move requires a lot of negotiation both internally and with partners. But still, live events are different, “and we want to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Watch the full UFC Paris post-fight press conference with David Shaw above.

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France’s Fiorot (11-1) had to endure a headbutt that left her severely bloodied, but otherwise soundly defeated former strawweight champ “Thug” Rose Namajunas, who had moved up in weight for the fight.

Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following UFC Paris, Fiorot was still wiping away the blood trickling down the side of her head with a tissue. But, she said, she was never dazed from the blow. “Honestly, just the blood on my head was a little bit difficult in the second and third round,” Fiorot stated.

That wasn’t the only damage on display following the bout, as Fiorot had her knee bandaged. “My knee is okay. I took one low kick, and it’s a little bit painful, but it’s fine,” said Fiorot.

Throughout the fight, Namajunas pursued takedowns that simply weren’t there. Given the ex-strawweight’s tendency to finish fights on the feet (see: her headkick finish of Weili Zhang), that came as a bit of a surprise. But not for Fiorot it seems. “I know I’m a better striker, so I’m pretty sure she wanted to wrestle me. But it’s impossible to take me down.”

Now, Manon Fiorot is looking for a title shot. The belt will be on the line later this month when Alexa Grasso meets Valentina Shevchenko for the second time. “For sure I want to take this belt and fight the winner,” Fiorot said on that front. Later, however, she told Cageside Press that she would fight fellow contender Erin Blanchfiled if required.

“If UFC wants me to fight Blanchfield, I’ll take the fight. It’s an easy fight for me.”

That fight would almost certainly be a title eliminator, were it to happen next.

Watch the full UFC Paris post-fight press conference with Manon Fiorot above.

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In all honesty, the fans deserved a performance bonus all their own, as they cheered raucously for their countrymen (and women) and serenaded invading forces like Caolan Loughran with a chorus of jeers and boos even early in the night.

In actuality, it was some big performances on the main card that took home the bonus money, however. Arguably there was no one bigger performance on the card than that of Ciryl Gane, the French heavyweight and former interim champ once again headlining the show. Just as he did a year ago against Tai Tuivasa, Gane found the finish early at UFC Paris, battering Serghei Spivac in the second round as the Moldovan covered up along the fence.

If there were any questions about Gane’s takedown defense heading into the fight, he answered at least some of them. Lest you think “Bon Gamin” might need time away to regroup, it’s clear he remains a contender, despite his setback against Jon Jones earlier this year.

No fight entertained more, however, than the lightweight war between Benoit Saint-Denis and Thiago Moises. As cliche as such comments might be, the fight very much was a war, with Saint-Denis delivering an impressive amount of damage to the Brazilian, surviving a kneebar attempt, and eventually claiming the TKO victory.

The final bonus at this year’s UFC Paris card went to newcomer Morgan Charriere, who landed several kicks to the body of Manolo Zecchini to claim his own TKO finish.

All four fighters are set to take home an extra $50,000 USD for their efforts, on top of their show/win money, outfitting pay, etc.

The post UFC Paris: Gane Earns Performance Bonus, BSD-Moises Earns Fight of the Night appeared first on Cageside Press.

In a tough stylistic match-up with Spivac, at least on paper, Gane was looking to bounce back from a demoralizing loss to Jon Jones earlier this year. Turns out, it wasn’t so tough after all.

In the first round, Ciryl Gane looked like the fighter we knew before his fights with Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. Gane was using his movement to land the jab and his kicks, which seemed to be frustrating Spivac. Spivac shot for a couple of takedowns in the first round, which were stuffed by Gane, which had to be a huge confidence boost for Ciryl Gane. Spivac’s best moment in the first round was landing a right hand that seemed to get a little reaction from Gane. Ciryl landed some nice knees against the cage that drew reactions from Serghei Spivac. Gane seemed to have won the first round convincingly.

To start the second round, Gane continued his pace, landing some beautiful body shots followed by jabs and kicks. It seemed Spivac had absolutely nothing left for Gane in the second. Gane was landing knees against the cage combined with body shots, then opened up Spivac’s head. With the Moldovan heavyweight forced to cover up after enduring a battering, the ref finally called it off!

Ciryl Gane found his range early in this fight and stuffed some takedowns, which was a good sign considering he has struggled with wrestlers in the past. Gane made his country proud by finding the second-round TKO with a flurry of strikes against the cage.

This was a huge bounce back from one of the best heavyweights on planet Earth, against a very good Serghei Spivac. Gane put on a great striking clinic and showed defensive improvements, specifically with his takedown defense. The French star has many options moving forward, including a fantastic fighter in England’s own Tom Aspinall, who called for the winner back in July.

Official Result: Ciryl Gane def. Serghei Spivac by TKO (strikes), Round 2, 3:44

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Namajunas and Fiorot went back-and-forth early in the fight, with the French flyweight mixing in kicks, and Namajunas circling, firing her own kicks low, all the while looking to counter. Late in the round, Namajunas, clearly the smaller fighter, shot for a takedown to no avail. Fiorot finished the round with a side kick, while Namajunas headed back to her corner showing a bit of damage under one eye. Fiorot appeared to have the advantage.

In the second, it was Fiorot clinching up about a minute in, putting her weight on “Thug” Rose. Namajunas fought hands, and Fiorot opted to rip a combo, landing a knee at the end of it that appeared to bother the American. Back at range, Fiorot went back to her kicking attack, which Rose answered with a spinning kick of her own that hit air. Later, she’d close the distance for her best takedown attempt of the round, bullying Fiorot to the fence— but she could not get the fight to the ground. A nasty cut, however, was opened up on Fiorot after an accidental head butt with just over a minute left in the round. It was bloody, really bloody, but to the side of the head, so not impeding her vision.

On the restart, Namajunas looked for an entry point, but couldn’t find one. Fiorot, bloodied or not, showed some smart boxing to finish the frame.

Round three had Fiorot no doubt ahead in the fight, having fended off takedowns and won out in the stand-up department. An early Namajunas takedown was fought off by Fiorot, who continued to pick apart the ex-strawweight champ. Namajunas began pressing forward, looking to apply pressure, but walked into a couple of Fiorot punches for her efforts. Namajunas was also shying away from firing her right hand, for reasons unknown. Ahead of the final minute, the pair had a heated change, but Namajunas was running out of time and the crowd knew it. A slip by Fiorot in the dying seconds wasn’t enough for Namajunas to capitalize on, and they headed to the scorecards to determine a winner.

Unanimous for @ManonFiorot_MMA! 👏

She takes your #UFCParis co-main over Rose Namajunas pic.twitter.com/8UQ0GQfZbw

— UFC (@ufc) September 2, 2023

Official Result: Manon Fiorot def. Rose Namajunas by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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