The Polish star was one of four big debuts on the night, and would have been one of five had Losene Keita not missed weight.

Gomis opened the fight with a heavy kickboxing approach, firing off body kicks and long strikes. Ruchala responded in kind, throwing his own kicks and charging forward with volume. Gomis’s footwork allowed him to slip most of the early blitzes, but when Ruchala closed distance, he secured a clean body-lock takedown. The control was short-lived, as Gomis quickly scrambled back to his feet. With his back on the cage, Gomis absorbed some pressure before breaking free and digging in a sharp kick to the body. In the closing minute, Gomis kept targeting the midsection with kicks, building momentum as the round ended.

Round two began with both fighters trading kicks immediately. Gomis found openings with body shots, while Ruchala kept looking for takedowns to drag the fight into close quarters. At one point, Gomis caught a kick and countered with a crisp right hand. Ruchala stayed committed to the grind, muscling Gomis to the fence and eventually hitting a trip to put him on his back. From top position, Ruchala worked with heavy head pressure and short punches to the ribs, but Gomis stayed composed and scooted to the cage, working back to his feet before the horn. Just before the bell, Gomis unleashed a spinning body kick and even fired high with a head kick attempt.

In the final round, Gomis went back to his long-range weapons including jabs, teeps, and low kicks, though nothing landed clean early. He mixed targets well, forcing Ruchala to wade through damage to get inside. Ruchala continued to hunt the body with naked back kicks and clinch entries, but Gomis countered with leg kicks and straight shots whenever he reset at range. Midway through, Ruchala surprised him with a head kick that wrapped around the guard and landed flush, giving him a surge of momentum. Gomis answered back instantly, snapping a left hand that visibly stunned Ruchala. Smelling the moment, Gomis shot in himself, scoring a takedown to seal the fight.

The scorecards had it in favor of Gomis, giving him a unanimous decision win.

Official Result: William Gomis def. Robert Ruchala by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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Ruchala, from Poland, is a former KSW champion, yet it was still something of a surprise to see him land the 4-1 Gomis for his debut. The French fighter, however, doesn’t feel disrespected drawing a newcomer.

“In French we say ‘when the road is longer, the victory is [greater],'” Gomis (14-3) explained during this week’s UFC Paris media day. “So it’s okay. I have to prove to myself, to the UFC who I am. So it’s what I’m going to do.”

Gomis agreed that the bout will be the biggest of Ruchala’s career, despite the Polish fighter’s run at the top of KSW.

“Yeah, I think it’s the biggest fight in his career because he’s in UFC now. UFC debut is not easy, and I’m not a gift,” stated Gomis.

The pair have a shared opponent in their history: Gomis lost to Salahdine Parnasse in his professional debut. Years later, Ruchala lost to double-champ Parnasse under the KSW banner. Yet there has been more to Gomi’s preparation than just studying his opponent’s most recent loss.

Working hard with his coaches, Gomis noted that “I looked at all his fights, I have a lot of keys to win this fight.”

What does he see in Robert Ruchala? “He’s a good fighter, but I’m ready,” said Gomis this week. “I have more speed, I’m fast. Let’s go.”

Watch the full UFC Paris media day appearance by William Gomis above.

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In the co-main, Cody Brundage stopped Julian Marquez at the end of a barnburner round in an absolutely pivotal victory. This card practically fell apart as there were six cancelled bouts in the lead up to fight night. The main card of UFC Vegas 103 had two split decisions including the fight of the night. And the other three fights ended with finishes. Quite a few prospects on this edition of losers taking their first losses with the promotion and with one fighter potentially facing the axe.

Asu Almabayev

Asu Almabayev suffered multiple eye pokes in the sequence that led up to his third round TKO loss to Manel Kape in the main event on Saturday. The loss was Asu’s first with the UFC since being signed in August of 2023. Almabayev is now 4-1 with the UFC. The loss was actually Asu’s first since 2017, snapping an impressive 17-fight win streak.

Almabayev entered the fight ranked as the #8 ranked UFC flyweight while his opponent, Kape, came in ranked at #6. Kape was Asu’s third opponent for UFC Vegas 103 after he was forced to reschedule twice from Steve Erceg and then Allan Nascimento (Brandon Royval’s injury and withdrawal from the main event with Kape is what triggered the latter rescheduling).

With all of these factors in mind, Asu should fight Alex Perez next. In a perfect world, Asu would fight Perez as both fighters last victory came in 2024 against Matheus Nicolau. Perez suffered a gruesome knee injury in his last time out, last June, opposite of Tatsuro Taira. The #7 ranked UFC flyweight has been out of commission since then, but this matchup would be a worthwhile comeback. Asu didn’t have an answer for speed and footwork of Kape. It’d be interesting to see him against a different style in 32-year-old Alex Perez, fresh off of his injury.

Almabayev’s next fight: Alex Perez 

Julian Marquez

Julian Marquez suffered a devastating stoppage defeat at the hands of fellow Contender Series alum, Cody Brundage. Julian’s losing streak has now stretched to four fights, with the “Cuban Missile Crisis” only making it out of the first round in one of those defeats. After starting off 3-1 with the promotion with all of his wins earing performance bonuses, this is an extremely disappointing outcome for Marquez.

Despite being featured in the co-main event Marquez was very likely fighting for his spot on the roster. Fans should not be surprised if Julian doesn’t remain with the promotion after next week. Marquez is an exciting fighter that made real waves at one point. Not just for his destructive fight style but actually building himself a bit of a name within the UFC. The injuries and canceled fights have somewhat derailed his career with the promotion. Going on a 4-fight losing streak signifies within the UFC signifies that the promotion was willing to keep you around for one reason or another.

If Julian gets another fight, which is doubtful, fans could expect a fighter like the winner of Torrez Finney vs Robert Valentin. Torrez is a three-time Contender Series competitor that had to practically move mountains to earn himself a contract with the promotion due to his size. Robert Valentin is The Ultimate Fighter Season 32 runner up, losing the tournament championship last year to Ryan Loder when he was finished in the second round. These are two fringe UFC fighters trying to prove themselves, whoever comes out of the bout on April 5th should get Marquez, potentially even the loser depending on how the bout goes.

Marquez’s next fight: Torrez Finney vs Robert Valentin 

Esteban Ribovics

Esteban Ribovics lost a close split decision to Nasrat Haqparast in a bout that ended up winning fight of the night honors. Ribovics, a 2022 Contender Series alum, had won three fights in a row since dropping his debut in 2023. Esteban had a monster 2024, KOing Terrance McKinney with a head kick in 37 second. And of course, his split decision win over Daniel Zellhuber that was the 2024 fight of the year.

Despite the loss, Esteban is on a roll in terms of putting on bangers. Ribovics was a favorite coming into this one. And the loss, although it hurts his trajectory, doesn’t hurt his stock too much- thanks to how entertaining the fight was. Matchmakers should keep the good times coming with Esteban by having him take on the winner Drew Dober vs Manel Torres. That fight goes down on March 29 and is guaranteed to be fireworks. Dober has lost three of his last four bouts, but has secured two post-fight bonuses in that span. Drew is never in a boring fight and his last outing was a good one against Jean Silva even though he was stopped.

Manuel Torres is at a much different place in his UFC career than Dober. Torres started off red hot, with three finishes and three performance bonuses. Manuel dropped his first bout with the promotion in his last time out, when he was finished by Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC 306.

Ribovics’s next fight: Drew Dober vs. Manuel Torres Winner

William Gomis

William Gomis suffered a competitive split decision defeat against an undefeated Hyder Amil at UFC Vegas 103 on Saturday. The loss halted William’s four-fight win streak with the UFC and was his first loss since 2016- some 12 fights. Gomis had been on fire scoring a split decision victory over Joanderson Brito in his previous fight, last September.

Gomis has been in three split decisions out of his five UFC bouts. William is a solid, knowledgeable fighter that puts on competitive chess matches. For William’s next fight a matchup between the loser of Nathaniel Wood vs Morgan Carriere would be perfect.

Nathaniel Wood has won four of his last five bouts and at 8-3 with the UFC is starting rise to the top of the division. Morgan Charriere is an experienced and exciting fighter that has also won four of his last five fights. Morgan also gave Gomis his loss back in 2016, so it’d be pretty cool to run that back in a whole different promotion. Charriere vs. Wood goes down on March 22 so the timing wouldn’t be half bad depending on how the fight goes.

Gomis’s next fight: Morgan Charriere vs. Nathaniel Wood Loser

Danny Barlow

Danny Barlow lost for the first time in his pro MMA career when he was KO’d by Sam Patterson on Saturday. Barlow, a 2023 Contender Series alum, had won two in a row, stopping Josh Quinlan and snagging a split decision victory against Nikolay Veretennikov last August.

Considering this outcome, it now makes the most sense for Barlow to revisit a previously booked fight at this point. Danny should fight Uros Medic who he was scheduled to fight last August. The bout was canceled as Medic suffered a rib injury (Barlow fought Nikolay instead). This bout makes sense as Medic also suffered a first round KO loss back in January against Punahele Soriano. Medic also got his start on CS and is 4-3 with the UFC. Uros halost two of his last three fights.

Danny’s next fight: Uros Medic 

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Amil entered the night a perfect 9-0 in a career that had seen stops in LFA (2-0), Bellator MMA (3-0), the Contender Series (1-0), and then the UFC (2-0). Gomis had not lost since 2016 and came into this contest on a 13 fight win streak.

From the opening bell Amil came out extremely aggressive putting pressure on Gomis early. Gomis reversed position against the fence and landed a good knee to the body in the clinch. Gomis wanted to strike from the outside, but Amil was closing the distance well and forcing the fight into the clinch. Gomis length and size served him well against the cage where he held Amil for almost a minute. Gomis kicks to the legs and body at distance were lighting fast and efficient. Gomies landed a nice elbow and knee in the clinch that busted open Amil and started a cut. Amil elected to bite down on his mouthpiece and both fighters exchanged punches on the inside. An action packed opening five minutes saw Gomis slightly out land Amil, who had good moments as well.

Amil pressed forward again in the second looking to land big hooks on the inside. Amil landed a beautiful three punch combination against the fence that forced Gomis to retreat. Gomis answered with a spinning kick to the body, but Amil ate it and marched forward. Gomis had no pressure to land his devastating strikes at distance, as Amil made the talented striker fight off his back foot. Both fighters threw caution to the win in the final minute of round two exchanging shots against the fence. After ten minutes the fight seemed to be tied at one a piece.

In the final round Gomis again fought with his back against the cage and struggled to use his length against Amil. Gomis landed a strong left straight, while Amil worked punches to the body. The pace that Amil was able to go at was very impressive, tiring out Gomis who was known for having a solid gas tank. Amil then landed a takedown in the third and worked to the back of Gomis. Amil started to land ground and pound to Gomis as he tried to scramble to his feet. Amil showed no respect for the power of Gomis continuing to walk straight toward his opponent. Gomis began to throw labored punches that looked to have no sting left on them. After three hard fought round the fight went to the scorecards for the judges decision. A highly entertaining contest that saw each fighter land over 100 significant strikes.

When the judges scored the fight they were split. One judge saw the fight for Gomis while the other two saw the contest for Amil. Staying undefeated and cashing as a betting underdog, Hyder Amil picked up the biggest win of his career. Following the victory, Amil talked about some of the struggles he has been going through including losing a close friend, and his dog. Amil stated he deserves someone in the top 10-15 rankings next. The 11-0 rising prospect is trained by former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez and has massive opportunities to come.

Official Result: Hyder Amil def. William Gomis by unanimous decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

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Renato Moicano

Renato Moicano absolutely battered and brutalized his opponent, Benoit Saint-Denis, in the UFC Paris main event Saturday. Moicano eventually scored a doctor’s stoppage victory at the conclusion of the second round of the bout.

Renato entered the fight as the #11 ranked lightweight in the UFC while Benoit Saint Denis was ranked at #12. And Moicano is riding a lot of momentum right now as its not only that he’s on a four-fight win streak but how he’s winning these fights and how electric they are. And of course, Renato having fun on the mic afterwards. A golden formula.

Dan Hooker would be the ideal next matchup for Renato Moicano. Renato mentioned both Dan and Paddy Pimblett after his fight. But a fight with #5 ranked Dan Hooker makes the most sense for 35-year-old Moicano, who needs to make his move on the belt sooner rather than later.

Renato’s next fight: Dan Hooker

Nassourdine Imavov

Nassourdine Imavov turned in nearly as dominating of a performance as he could have dreamt of as he out grappled Brendan Allen on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Imavov put his #4 ranking in the UFC’s middleweight division up for grabs as Allen entered the fight ranked at #8. Nassourdine is now on a four-fight unbeaten streak including names like Chris Curtis, Roman Dolidze, and Jared Cannonier. Imavov’s next fight should be for the belt with what is going on in the middleweight division. A fight with Dricus makes sense if that is what Imavov wants but a fight with #1 ranked UFC middleweight, Sean Strickland, is also available if Imavov so chooses (Strickland represents his last loss).

Nassourdine’s next fight: Dricus Du Plessis 

Wiliam Gomis

William Gomis extended his winning streak to a perfect four in a row with his split decision victory over Joanderson Brito at UFC Paris. Questionable decision or not, a win is a win. And Gomis got the win.

That victory was massive for Gomis as he has faced three fight cancellations, including one due to weight cutting complications, in the lead up to this bout.

Gomis should fight Chepe Mariscal next. 4-0 vs. 4-0. Gomis has been finding a way to win so a fight with a guy like Chepe makes a lot of sense. Mariscal is scrappy and holds impressive wins over guys like Trevor Peek, Jack Jenkins, Morgan Carriere and most recently Damon Jackson.

William’s next fight: Chepe Mariscal 

Bryan Battle

Bryan Battle walked through his French opposition, Kevin Jousset, at UFC Paris, dispatching him in two rounds with a hail of fists. The stoppage earned Battle a cool 50k. And it should earn him a good boost in the rankings as he 6-1 in the UFC with 1 NC against Ange Loosa in March (which was going his way till a second-round eye poke).

As usual, welterweight is crowded. But as a TUF winner, with mic skills and the capable stand up striking that he has, a solid opportunity should be on the horizon for Bryan.

Battle is about another two impressive wins from being ranked in the welterweight division. With that being said, Battle’s next fight should be against Khaos Williams. Williams has a similar record to Battle as he’s 6-2 in the UFC. His only losses in the UFC are two tough guys in Michel Pereira and Randy Brown. Plus, Khaos has scary power in his hands. This would be a great test for Battle to see if he’s ready for that next tier.

Bryan’s next fight: Khaos Williams

Morgan Charriere

Morgan Charriere put an abrupt stoppage to his fight with Gabriel Miranda with his fists on Saturday. It didn’t even take thirty seconds into the second round.

Win or lose, it doesn’t seem to matter as Charriere has looked great in the UFC thus far. Full stop. He’s looked like an incredibly exciting, skilled and explosive fighter. And it’s shown in Morgan’s paychecks as he has made 150k extra in bonuses since joining the UFC last September.

Julio Arce would be a good fight for Charriere. Arce is a 10-fight UFC vet that is product of the 2017 season of the Contender Series. Arce has won three of his last five fights including his most recent bout back in March against Herbert Burns. Arce is the fight to make, and he will likely stay at featherweight for his next fight.

Morgan’s next fight: Julio Arce

Fares Ziam

Fares Ziam steamrolled Matt Frevolla with a crafty knee from clinch range to stop the fight in the final round of their bout. Ziam is now on a hot streak and has won four fights in a row since his February of 2022 loss to Terrance McKinney. This victory was his first finish on the win streak, and he rightfully earned a performance bonus for his handy work.

In his next fight, Fares Ziam should take on Drakkar Klose. Klose is also riding a four-fight win streak in the UFC. He was last in the octagon back in May with a unanimous decision victory over Joaquim Silva. Klose’s 2023 slam KO of Joe Solecki also has a similar big finish feel to Ziam’s win over Frevolla.

Fares’ next fight: Drakkar Klose

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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)

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Cageside Press was on hand in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when a fully clothed Gomis hit the scales looking wobbly and weak. Despite being clothed, he came in underweight, leading to speculation of either a mismanaged weight cut or illness.

UFC officials later announced that Gomis would not compete on the card, which saw him paired up with Jean Silva.

“Due to medical issues, William Gomis has been removed from his featherweight bout with Jean Silva,” a brief statement on the promotion’s official website read. “As a result, this bout has been removed from this weekend’s event.”

France’s Gomis later issued a brief statement. “Staying the course despite the storms… that’s what will get us to our destination. Thank you everyone for the immense support,” he posted to his verified Instagram account (translation via Google Translate).

Opponent Silva, to his credit, responded to that post stating that he admired Gomis, who reportedly weighed in despite vomiting backstage. A visibly unsteady Gomis had to be helped off the scale.

UFC 301 takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday, May 4 with Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg headlining.

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Gomis vs. Silva was announced by promotion officials on social media on Friday. The event takes place on May 4, 2024 at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio.

A flyweight title fight between champ Alexandre Pantoja and Australian contender Steve Erceg was also announced Friday.

Come May, William Gomis (13-2) be looking for his fourth straight victory inside the octagon. The French featherweight most recently finished Yanis Ghemmouri with a body kick in September, fighting at home in Paris. This time, he’ll be headed into enemy territory to face Brazilian Silva in his own back yard.

Jean Silva (12-2) is a 2023 Contender Series winner who saw his hand raised over Westin Wilson in Silva’s promotional debut back in January. He hasn’t lost a fight since 2018, piling up nine straight wins.

With the addition of William Gomis vs. Jean Silva, UFC 301 currently features the following reported bouts:

• Alexandre Pantoja (c) vs. Steve Erceg — for the UFC flyweight championship
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo
• Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho
• Joaquim Silva vs. Drakkar Klose
• Alessandro Costa vs. Kevin Borjas
• Jack Shore vs. Joanderson Brito
• Elves Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai
• Anthony Smith vs. Vitor Petrino
• William Gomis vs. Jean Silva

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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

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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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