The evening had been almost perfect for the Blues until then, like the new success of Nassourdine Imavov, who confirmed his ambitions at the highest level of the UFC. But now, the “main event” of the evening came to an end for Benoit Saint-Denis. Headliner of the UFC Paris on Saturday in Bercy, the 28-year-old Frenchman experienced an ordeal in the -70 kg category against the Brazilian Renato Moicano who won after the doctor’s decision to stop the fight after the second round because the Habs no longer saw in his right eye.
While he hoped to move forward, six months after a bitter defeat against Dustin Poirier marked by a staphylococcus infection, the former special forces soldier saw his hopes disappear in the first round this Saturday . He who is used to starting his fights well was taken to the ground by the Brazilian. For many minutes, he was mistreated by the very offensive work of his opponent.
He finished this catastrophic first round, very marked, with swollen eyes. And after the end of the second round, “BSD” saw the doctor come to check him. And unsurprisingly, the latter stopped the fight because the Habs “could not see with his right eye”. A new blow for Benoit Saint Denis, who is presented as one of the French stars of the discipline, alongside Ciryl Gane, Manon Fiorot and Cédric Doumbé. “I will come back stronger“, however warned on RMC the Nîmes, still as combative despite this second defeat in a row.
Imavov can dream of the belt
Before this last fight, the French supporters had found other reasons to smile. Surprised during the first of the three rounds of his fight, Nassourdine Imavov, who had taken a gamble by accepting a duel against a fighter less well ranked than him despite his rise, notably confirmed his status as a rising figure in French MMA. For his third fight of the year in the UFC cages, Imavov, who rose to fourth place in the world middleweight (-84 kg), met expectations despite good resistance from Brendan Allen.
In a great fight, the 28-year-old Habs displayed his intelligence and his science to get rid of the experienced American, who is still 8th in the world, by unanimous decision of the judges. With this new success against a Top 10 in the UFC, the “Sniper” is getting closer to the much-desired fight for world number one, currently held by South African Dricus Du Plessis. “I think I deserve the belt“, the Frenchman said on RMC when he was questioned in the octagon about his wishes for his next duel. And no one will say the opposite after this new show at Bercy.
Ziam, Gomis and Charrière: The other Blues are there
In the other matches of the evening, the French knew how to ride the boiling atmosphere of Bercy. While Farès Ziam took the date to ideally start the day with a knockout. to get rid of Matt Frevola (-70kg) thanks to a knee to the chin, Morgan Charrière and William Gomis were not left out.
For his third fight in the UFC, Morgan Charrière succeeded in his mission. While he hoped to win but also deliver a spectacular performance to “cement” his place in the American organization, the Habs made a terrible mistake to sign a nice knockout. against Gabriel Miranda in -66kg. He offers himself the thunderous success he hoped for. And he was able to celebrate with the audience at the Accor Arena by asking them to sing the Marseillaise.
A few minutes later and after the defeat of Kevin Jousset against the American Bryan Battle (-77kg), William Gomis amazed Bercy by dominating Joanderson Brito by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). With this fourth success in the UFC, “The Jaguar” will now be able to aim higher. An increasingly well-known refrain in French MMA.
