UFC Fight Night Paris Post Fight Analysis

Hello fight fans! This UFC fight night took place this past Saturday at The Accor Arena in Paris, France and the French (and French speaker Oezdemir) dominated.

Trivia (answer at end)

Korean Zombie is credited with 1 of 3 finishes by twister submission. Who are the other two?

Morgan Charriere vs. Manolo Zecchini

Recap: Both Charriere and Zecchini made their UFC debut with this fight. Zecchini is an explosive fighter and is known to throw some flying knees in his previous fights and Charriere is the former Cage Warriors featherweight champion so I was excited to see them fight one another. The two had good back and forth striking and with a minute thirty left to go, Charriere threw two hard kicks to Zecchini’s liver who stayed moving but definitely felt the pain. Then about fifteen seconds later, Charriere threw another kick to the liver. Zecchini tried to throw a right counterpunch but dropped down and was debilitated (oof liver shots suck). Charriere ended his UFC debut with the TKO.

What’s Next: Both these fighters are hard hitters and extremely entertaining to watch with good competition in front of them in the featherweight division. I’m excited to see their progression as they move through the rankings and I’m ready to be entertained!

William Gomis vs. Yanis Ghemmouri

Recap: Both these French fighters entered this featherweight bout with impressive winning streaks. Gomis at 10 and Ghemmouri at 9. This was also Ghemmouri’s UFC debut. Round 1 and 2 had back and forth striking with Gomis being faster and landing more and Ghemmouri having power. Ghemmouri changed things up a bit and went for the first takedown attempt in round 2 but it was unsuccessful. I thought Gomis was going to have a fight-ending guillotine choke, but Ghemmouri managed to escape it. The initial two rounds favored Gomis. In round 3, there was a bit of controversy. Gomis threw a kick with 2:43 left in the round above the belt of Ghemmouri. Ghemmouri bent down as if it were a groin kick and the ref told the fighters to continue fighting. Ghemmouri walked away towards the fence as if he couldn’t continue the fight and Gomis made no attempt to fight. The ref called it with a win to Gomis.

The controversy here is that people thought the ref should have stopped the fight to check on Ghemmouri since his cup was grazed by Gomis’s foot after the kick and let them continue. I am going to take the unpopular opinion that the ref was correct in this instance. When I saw the kick, I thought it was a clean legal hit above the belt (reviews showed it was too). If I were the ref in the heat of the fight and saw that, I would have also made the fighters continue fighting. Then, when Ghemmouri walked away, I would have thought that he was unable to finish and give the TKO to Gomis like he did. I must also add that Gomis should have continued to fight. It was a bit odd that he voluntarily stopped. This is a fight. You don’t stop until the ref tells you to stop or pulls you off the opponent.

What’s Next: Both need to learn to continue the fight until the ref says to stop.

Volkan “No Time” Oezdemir vs. Bogdan Guskov

Recap: This is the 4th UFC debut of the night with Guskov fighting Oezdemir. Guskov is a very powerful striker that had fans thinking he could potentially give Oezdemir a run for his money. However, that was not the case. Oezdemir weakened Guskov with leg kicks and hurt Guskov with a left hook and uppercut. Oezdemir got Guskov to the ground where he proceeded with some ground and pound before taking Guskov’s back and submitting him with a rear naked choke. Oezdemir added to his 12 win knockout and 12 first round finish record by submitting Guskov 3:46 in round 1.

What’s Next: Oezdemir lost to Krylov and Smith who are ranked higher than him. I’d like to see him fight either Spann or do a take 2 with Anthony Smith since the last time those two fought was 2018. Plus it’s up in the air who Smith is going to fight next.

Benoît “God of War” Saint-Denis vs. Thiago Moises

Recap: Benoît Saint-Denis added a fourth win to his win streak against Thiago Moises and he made it look easy. In both rounds, Saint-Denis stalked Moises down predator prey style with kicks and punches to the body. He used the clinch to his advantage, landing some heavy knees to the body. Then in round 2, Saint-Denis got Moises against the cage in fetal position and started wailing on him before the ref ended the fight with a great stoppage. This fight got fight of the night and it was well deserved.

What’s Next: Benoît Saint-Denis is a force to be reckoned with. I knew something was special about this guy when he would not go down in his UFC debut against Dos Santos. Also, he was a member of the French Special Forces so this guy has a different mindset already. He wants the loser of Fiziev and Gamrot and I think he deserves that fight with how he’s been performing. That fight will also help determine where he stands with guys in the top 10. I’d like to see Thiago Moises take the loser of Ricky Glenn and Drew Dober.

Manon “The Beast” Fiorot vs. “Thug” Rose Namajunas

Recap: The first thing I noticed in this fight was that Trevor Whitman was nowhere to be seen. When I saw Rose walking through the arena sans Whitman, I had a feeling we weren’t going to see the Thug Rose that we once used to know. The second thing I noticed in this fight was how big Fiorot was compared to her (this was Rose’s first fight in the flyweight division) and Fiorot used that to her advantage. The fight was primarily striking with Fiorot showing us her great takedown defense from Rose’s attempts. Rose broke her right pinky early on in the first round, but it’s hard to say if that would have made much of a difference in the outcome because from the get-go she just seemed . . . off. Also, it’s not uncommon for fighters to break their bones and figure out ways to persevere. This game is just as much mental as it is physical. In the second round, there was a clash of heads which cut Fiorot but that did not slow her down. Rose came out more aggressive in the third round, but overall Manon outstruck Rose and came out ahead.

What’s Next: I think most fans will agree with me when I say Rose should divorce and drop her groomer (IYKYK) husband Pat Barry’s ass and get Trevor Whitman back as her coach. His coaching after the first round was abhorrent. Trevor Whitman > Pat Barry. I can’t even make a prediction on where Rose is going to go because if anyone’s been following her, you know she can be quite the headcase. I truly hope she figures something out though because she is such a talented martial artist. If she stays in the flyweight division, she’s gotta beef up. Even Fiorot mentioned how she won’t fare well with her small physique. As for Fiorot, I want to see a striking match between her and Santos. I’m not convinced she’s ready to go against Grasso, Bullet, or Blanchfield yet.

Ciryl “Bon Gamin” Gane vs. Sergei “Polar Bear” Spivac

Recap: Man do I love this French crowd. I couldn’t imagine a better situation for Gane after his loss to Jon Jones. The crowd cheered loudly for Gane and he did not disappoint. From the get-go, he looked very confident, had solid footwork, and did an excellent job keeping his distance from Spivac’s grappling game. Spivac did go in for a takedown attempt in round 1 but Gane displayed great defense and laid a huge knee to Spivac’s body before breaking away. As the second round went on, Gane was picking his shots and weakening Spivac by attacking his body. Gane eventually backed Spivac against the cage where he proceeded to destroy him with punches leading to a decisive TKO victory in the second round.

What’s Next: There are so many great contenders in the heavyweight division that I’d be happy with whoever Gane fights next but I think his next one is going to be against Aspinall, and Pavlovich will take the winner of those two if he doesn’t fight the winner of Stipe and Jones. As for Spivac, the winner between Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida will be a good test since both those fighters can grapple.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer

How many seconds did it take for Conor McGregor to defeat Jose Aldo? 13 seconds

Trivia Answer

2nd: Bryce Mitchell (Thugnasty)

3rd: Da’Mon Blackshear

Until next time fight fans!

BMF

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