Moicano remains a cant-miss attraction following UFC Paris victory

Renato Moicano made sure to silence the raucous French crowd at Accor Arena on Saturday, ending the evening with a stoppage victory before the start of the third round of his main event pairing with local favourite Benoit Saint Denis.

The Brazilian absolutely manhandled Saint Denis over the opening five minutes, dragging him to the canvas with ease early in the round before climbing to dominant positions and battering the former French military man with a buffet of punches and elbows that left him bruised, swollen, and bleeding.

To his credit, Saint Denis refused to quit and won the second round on all three scorecards, though it was clear that Moicano was taking the round off after expending a tremendous amount of energy busting him up in the first. Prior to the start of the third round, the doctor at ringside was called in to assess Saint Denis, and when it was determined that he was unable to see out from between the black and blue welts that had closed over his right eye, the bout was waved off.

In venturing to Paris and besting Saint Denis, Moicano collected his third win of the year, fourth straight victory overall, and extended his record to 7-1 since relocating to the lightweight division at the start of 2020. He’s won each of his last six starts in the division — his UFC 272 loss to Rafael Dos Anjos came at a catchweight — and he’s earned finishes in six of those seven lightweight wins as well.

Moicano was always an entertaining fighter during his featherweight run, but he’s transformed into a can’t-miss attraction in recent years, and should continue to be thrown into highly entertaining matchups going forward. He called Paddy Pimblett and Dan Hooker “easy fights” during his profanity-laced, often geo-political post-fight rant, and you would be hard press to find any fight fan that wouldn’t be keen to sit down and watch either of those contests sometime in the next four-to-six months.

For Saint Denis, it’s a disappointing defeat at home and a second straight loss after coming into the year on a five-fight winning streak and on the cusp of title contention. He had no answers for Moicano’s ground attack, and while his heart and grit were unquestionable, this was one of those instances where the ringside physician likely saved him from further punishment, even if he felt capable of continuing.

IMAVOV EARNS THIRD TOP 10 WIN OF 2024

After a frustrating year in 2023, Nassourdine Imavov continued his triumphant 2024 at home in Paris on Saturday, picking up his third straight win while simultaneously halting the extended winning streak of Brendan Allen.

“All-In” controlled the first, throwing Imavov to the canvas with force early in the round before keeping his shoulders stapled to the ground for the remainder of the frame. But Allen wasn’t able to do much damage, and in both the second and third, the Russian-born, Paris-based Imavov did well to stuff the takedowns and land solid offence of his own, doing quick work when the two were on the ground and getting the better of things as they traded blows in space down the stretch.

That’s now three victories over ranked opponents this year and six wins over his last eight fights, with his lone setback coming in a bout up a division when Sean Strickland stepped in on short notice at the start of the year; the other result was a no contest in Vancouver last summer against Chris Curtis.

Imavov politely requested a championship opportunity following his win, which is understandable given that he’s beaten Allen, Jared Cannonier, and Roman Dolidze over the last seven months. But with Strickland likely next for champ Dricus Du Plessis and Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev pencilled in for UFC 308 next months in Abu Dhabi, the surging contender is likely going to have to win at least one more before getting a chance to fight for championship gold.

A pairing with fellow title hopeful Caio Borralho feels far too easy not to make at this point, but time will tell what the UFC sees next for each man.

GOMIS EDGES BRITO

William Gomis picked up the biggest win of his UFC career, edging out Joanderson Brito by split decision in a battle of surging featherweight hopefuls.

Paris’ “Jaguar” took the first and the third on two of the three scorecards, utilizing sharp, precision striking to counteract the aggression of the Brazilian. While Brito certainly had his moments, both striking and on the canvas, Gomis was able to maintain his quickness throughout and was the more effective of the two in the decisive final round.

Now 4-0 in the UFC and riding a 12-fight winning streak, Gomis is another one of these quietly ascending talents in the lighter weight classes that should garner much more attention going forward. Brito entered on a five-fight winning streak, earning finishes each time out, and Gomis halted his momentum, which should merit another step up in competition his next time out.

While he’s certainly not going to get the matchup with Diego Lopes that he suggested, a date with someone in the 11-15 range in the rankings would make a great deal of sense.

YOUNG FRENCH STARS SHOW OUT

Fares Ziam and Morgan Charrière sent the partisan crowd in Paris into hysteria in back-to-back bouts to open the main card.

In the opener, Ziam seemed poised to collect a unanimous decision win over veteran New Yorker Matt Frevola, having controlled the opening two rounds with his well-rounded, developing skills. But midway through the third, Ziam framed up an elevated knee from a back waist lock position, and as Frevola turned in, the knee came up, found the jaw, and sent “The Steamrolla” crashing to the canvas with a thud.

Charrière followed that up by blasting Gabriel Miranda just 27 seconds into the second round.

After a competitive first round, the two men got into a brief clinch entanglement, with Miranda attempting a no-look kick that went between Charriere’s legs. As he stepped away and turned to see where his opponent was, “The Last Pirate” put a left hand on his chin that shut off the Brazilian’s lights and ended the fight in a flash.

Charriere is the more highly regarded of the two, and a massive star in their home country, but Ziam has been showing a ton of promise over the course of his current four-fight winning streak.

Both have solid experience under their belts and are still a couple of years away from turning 30, which means they’re just hitting their primes.

The lightweight and featherweight divisions are always flush with talent and advancing in either is a challenge, but if Ziam and Charriere can maintain their current form as they continue to gain further experience on the big stage, each could find themselves knocking on the door of the top 15 in the not too distant future.

STILL STREAKING

A pair of unheralded emerging talents in their respective division added to their individual winning streaks on Saturday as well.

Ludovit Klein entered his clash with Roosevelt Roberts on a three-fight winning streak and sporting a 5-0-1 record since moving to the lightweight ranks at the start of his 2022 campaign. While it was more difficult than anticipated, the biggest favourite on the card managed to keep his momentum intact, securing a unanimous decision win to keep pushing forward in the 155-pound ranks.

The Slovakian standout has been flying under the radar in the lightweight ranks due to a couple short notice opponent changes and more grinding wins, but Klein has earned clear wins over quality names like Mason Jones, Ignacio Bahamondes and Thiago Moises, and could very well find himself in line for a significant step up in competition after successfully navigating another tricky short-notice switch in Paris.

After missing weight on Friday, Ailin Perez made relatively quick work of Darya Zhelezhnyakova on Saturday, submitting her Russian foe in the first round before twerking directly in her face.

An attention magnet with her antics, Perez showed she’s a developing talent in the bantamweight division as well, securing the finish with ease as soon as she was able to deposit Zhelezhnyakova on the canvas and set up the choke. She has now won four straight, with her effort in Paris being her most impressive to date, and her ability to create viral moments is going to lead to someone wanting to put a stop to her post-fight dancing sometime soon.

EARLY AWKWARDNESS

There was some weirdness and points of discussion to cover in the opening fights at Accor Arena on Saturday.

Midway through the second round the fight between familiar foes Jacqueline Cavalcanti and France’s Nora Cornolle, Cavalcanti blatantly grabbed the fence to stop from being taken down. She remained upright and controlled the remainder of the round, and though she got a stern warning at the close of the frame, no point was taken.

Cavalcanti ended up on the happy side of a debatable split decision result — she clearly won the second and third — and a point deduction would have shifted the outcome to a majority draw, which doesn’t necessarily feel right, but that should also be what happens when a foul or rule violation directly impacts the way an interaction or round plays out.

As much as officials don’t want to have a direct impact on the outcome of fights, something has to be done with all these fence grabs and fouls, as competitors know there are no repercussions for breaking the rules, and that undoubtedly influences their actions and movements inside the octagon. All it will take is a couple of fighters being docked points straight away when they commit clear violations and a couple of wins flipping to draws (or losses) as a result and everyone will be more mindful of what they’re doing in those moments.

In the opening bout of the evening, Chris Duncan jumped on a guillotine attempt midway through the first round of his clash with Bolaji Oki, clamping onto the choke and making all the right adjustments as he looked for the finish. Just when it seemed like Oki was free of the hold, Duncan threw a couple of quick strikes off his back and informed the referee that Oki was out cold on top of him.

The arm was checked, Oki was in fact out, and the fight was rightfully halted, resulting in an odd first-round submission win for the Scottish lightweight Duncan.