UFC Paris Results: Sooo…About Last Night | Saint Denis vs. Moicano

Last night (Sat. September 28, 2024), the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) traveled to the Accor Arena in Paris, France for UFC Paris. It's amazing what a difference an enthusiastic audience can make. Although the card as a whole was pretty Apex-level and had a slow start, the Paris crowd was absolutely beside themselves the entire time! It felt like a big night of action with a lot at stake for both the spectators and the fighters.

Let's take a look back at the best performances and techniques from UFC Paris:

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Money Moicano Game plans his way to victory

Benoit Saint Denis is a very dangerous man, but his approach to fighting is straightforward. Renato Moicano, an experienced contender with plenty of cage time against the absolute best, came into the Octagon well prepared to take advantage of Saint Denis's inexperience.

Saint Denis immediately aimed for his favorite kick to the left liver. Moicano – almost as if he spent an entire training camp practicing for this weapon! – pushed the kick past, created an angle and used it to score an easy takedown. Remember when Alexander Gustafsson did the exact same thing and became the first man to beat Jon Jones? It's hard to stop a shot that starts so low and at such a good angle.

With his clever strategy, Moicano secured the top position early on when both drivers were dry. The Brazilian once again showed his preparation and overall excellent jiu-jitsu, countering Saint Denis' butterfly guard and pinning him. Instead, when the French athlete tried to get to his feet, Moicano jumped on his back and beat the absolute piss out of him from the body triangle.

Saint Denis returned to his chair a changed man. Both of his eyes were swollen almost to their capacity and his right eye also had two severe cuts. In the second round, Moicano threw relaxed jabs as Saint Denis tried to get his legs back under him. At the end of the second he seemed a little more ready to fight, but the matter was already a done deal.

Saint Denis's face was a complete mess. He couldn't open his eyes at all. The cage-side doctor didn't get the enthusiasm of the French crowd, but he made the right decision when he stopped the fight after the second.

All in all, Moicano and his team deserve a lot of credit for this win. Benoit Saint Denis gave Moicano's teammate Dustin Poirier hell earlier this year, but Moicano escaped without a scratch on his face – that's the power of a good game plan!

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The dark horses overwhelm

Nassourdine Imavov and Brendan Allen competed at UFC Paris looking to make a case for a title shot in a crowded 185-pound division. They tried to impress and steal the opportunity away from people like Sean Strickland, Robert Whittaker, Khamzat Chimaev or Alex Pereira – any of them COULD be the next for Dricus Du Plessis.

No.

The fight was finebut I wasn't impressed with either one. Allen's wrestling looked terrible. In rounds two and three he repeatedly shot poorly and lost the top position because he kept wrestling from his knees – terrible form! When he actually wanted to strike, he landed pretty well, but he kept shooting himself in the foot by getting too caught up in the poor takedown attack.

Imavov was just a little better. His hands looked sharp as always and his wrestling defense has improved over the years. That was enough to win the W here, but his condition is still poor. Nothing really happened in round one (Allen controlled him from the top position but didn't do anything), he won round two easily, and he's still horribly gassed in round three?

Cardio equipment champion “Stillknocks” doesn’t sleep at the thought of an Imavov title fight.

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The fight continues Welterweight Ascension

Is trying to fight a judo specialist in cage wrestling the best idea? That is up for debate. On the one hand, Bryan Battle was unable to defeat Kevin Jousset. At the same time, Battle's wrestling philosophy fit the basic idea of ​​his strategy, which was to wear down and tire Jousset through constant pressure and attack.

The first round was close enough as Battle couldn't finish the takedowns but scored with volume while eating counters. However, his weaponized pace paid off in the second round as he began to fire off more and more volume in the face of a slowing Jousset. It really felt like a classic Diaz Brother-style mauling, complete with cracks on the body side of the cage. When a right hand rocked Jousset, Battle drained the tank with a never-ending tornado, forcing the referee's hand to save the shaky Frenchman.

“The Butcher” improves his UFC record to 6-1-1.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Charriere spoils the Parisian audience

Although Morgan Charreire entered his third UFC fight with a 1-1 record, it was clear to anyone watching that Morgan Charreire is truly talented. He is well above the average unranked featherweight population. His win over Gabriel Miranda – also 1-1 in the UFC, but didn't look particularly special – wasn't a surprise. He largely dominated the grappler on the feet, fending off takedowns with ease and finally landing a big left hook on the floor.

It was a beautiful victory, a confirmation that Charreire is real. The big moment, however, was Charreire leading the entire crowd in the rendition of the French national anthem! When Mike Bisping breaks into the song he usually snatches the microphone away from him, but in this case it was actually a great moment.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

The most brutal knockout of 2024?

Fares Ziam put in a great performance against Matt Frevola, but I have to assume his development will be overshadowed by the sheer viciousness of the knee that ended the fight. Maybe I'm alone in this, but I was pretty amazed at how badly Frevola collapsed from knee to chin, collapsing completely unconscious as his mouthpiece fell to the track.

I hope “Steamrolla” is okay.

As for Ziam, he deserves all his flowers. At 27 years old, Ziam has developed into a bona fide lightweight contender. He has always been technically gifted, but in the past Ziam has been hampered somewhat by his lack of physicality and killer instinct. Understandable flaws for a young fighter who made it to the UFC at 22!

In this battle, Ziam's strength held up well despite Frevola's bowling ball offense. His straight punches entered the arc of Frevola's swings and caused great damage, calming him down. When Frevola paused for a moment, Ziam showed some clever combination work and mixed his punches really well. He then moved on to his own grappling and nearly scored his own submission victory in round two.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Additional thoughts

• Chris Duncan Defeats Bolaji Oki via first round guillotine choke (highlights): When was the last time jumping over the Gilly worked? Better yet, when was the last time a closed guard guillotine worked? Towards the end of the first round, Duncan beat both historical precedent and the odds in equal measure. Oki was the faster man with heavier punches early on, but a takedown attempt from Duncan provided the opportunity to jump on him as Oki came to a stop. Just as Duncan released the chokehold, Oki was revealed to be unconscious!
• Ailin Perez Defeats Darya Zheleznyakova via triangle choke with first arm (highlights): Perez lost weight on Friday, which definitely costs her some points here. Still, she picked up a relatively effortless submission victory in just over a minute, earning her fourth straight UFC win in a very weak division. She's already ranked, so perhaps the win (and subsequent twerking) will make her the next opponent in the top 10? There aren't many women in the bantamweight division who actively get wins like that.

For complete UFC Paris: Saint-Denis vs. Moicano results and play-by-play click here HERE!