Category Archives: Mmafighting.com

UFC Paris post-fight press conference video

by Site Admin ~ September 29th, 2024

UFC 300 Press Conference
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The UFC Paris post-fight press conference is the last piece of business to take care of after the action is over in the Octagon, and we have the live video above at MMAFighting.com.

UFC officials will announce the winners of the “Fight of the Night” and the “Performance of the Night” bonuses, and winning fighters will meet the media after their fights.

The UFC Paris post-fight press conference takes place about 30 minutes after the main event ends, meaning it will start around 6 p.m. ET.

MMA Fighting – All Posts


UFC Fight Night: Moicano v Saint Denis
Renato Moicano stopped Benoit Saint Denis in France | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Renato Moicano promised to ruin the French party in the main event of UFC Paris, and did just that Saturday night, smashing Benoit Saint Denis with vicious ground and pound to force a doctor stoppage before the third round.

Moicano entered the second main event of his UFC career riding a three-fight winning streak, and took Saint Danis down fast, moving to top position and getting his back to land vicious elbows and punches to open a cut around his right eye.

Saint Denis survived the early scare and came back better in round two, stuffing every Moicano takedown and connecting better on the feet. He had no chance to rebound in the third as the doctor called the end to the fight in between rounds after the Frenchman couldn’t see out of his right eye.

Moicano has now won six of his last seven with five stoppages to his credit, the loss being a five-round catchweight defeat to Rafael dos Anjos on four days’ notice.

“Next, I want easy money,” Moicano said after the win. “Paddy Pimblett, easy money. Dan Hooker, easy money. Don’t come up with bullsh*t fights. Don’t come up with guys that are tough. I want easy fights. I just beat a hell of an athlete everybody was talking about, Benoit Saint Denis. But guess what, Money Moicano is the man tonight.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Four bonuses handed out at UFC Paris

by Site Admin ~ September 29th, 2024

UFC Fight Night: Ziam v Frevola
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

A couple of brutal finishes at UFC Paris paid off for a select few.

Chris Duncan, Fares Ziam, Bryan Battle, and Morgan Charriere all earned an extra $ 50,000 for their big wins at the Accor Arena in Paris, France, on Saturday evening.

Duncan kicked off the card with an odd finish as he, and the ref, were both surprised Bolaji Oki was asleep from his guillotine submission.

Ziam was more definitive with his win, knocking out Matt Frevola with a vicious knee in the third round. Charriere followed that up with a knockout of his own in the second round.

Lastly, Battle earned his bonus for dominating Kevin Jousset on the feet en route to a second-round stoppage.

MMA Fighting – All Posts


Renato Moicano and Benoit Saint Denis at UFC Paris
Renato Moicano and Benoit Saint Denis at UFC Paris | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Renato Moicano was “Money” after all.

On Saturday at Accor arena, Moicano delivered a brutal beatdown to Benoit Saint Denis in the main event of UFC Paris, scoring a second-round doctor stoppage after Saint Denis was rendered unable to see in one eye. Following Saturday’s event from the French capital, MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and José Youngs react to Moicano’s big win and where Saint Denis goes from here.

Additionally, the MMA Fighting team reacts to Nassourdine Imavov’s big win over Brendan Allen in the co-main event, and what that means for both men’s title aspirations, as well as highlight reel performances from Bryan Battle, Morgan Charriere, Fares Ziam, and Chris Duncan.

Watch the UFC Paris post-fight show above, or an audio-only version of the show can also be streamed below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your pods.

MMA Fighting – All Posts


Stevie Ray hit a “Scottish Twister” to cap off his career in the main event of PFL Europe 3 on Saturday night in Glasgow, Scotland.

Ray entered the cage on a three-fight losing skid, losing to Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Natan Schulte and Clay Collard in previous PFL seasons, to headline the show in his home country with his retirement fight against Lewis Long.

Ray once again displayed slick jiu-jitsu to lock up a Twister off his back, forcing Long to quit with 36 seconds left in the clock in the opening round.

Watch the finish below.

Ray, who had already finished ex-UFC and WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis with the same move back in 2022, hangs up his gloves with a MMA record of 26-13. “Braveheart” went 7-4 in the UFC and 3-4 under the PFL banner, defeating the likes of Michael Johnson, Joe Lauzon and Ross Pearson during his UFC run.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

UFC Paris live blog: Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint Denis

by Site Admin ~ September 28th, 2024

Renato Moicano and Benoit Saint Denis face off ahead of UFC Paris
Renato Moicano and Benoit Saint Denis face off ahead of UFC Paris | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

This is the UFC Paris live blog for Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint Denis, the lightweight main event this Saturday in Paris.

A former top-15 featherweight, Moicano moved up to the 155-pound division in 2020 following back-to-back losses and rejuvenated his career. 5-2 since making the jump up, Moicano is currently on a three-fight win streak over some of the top names in the division. Perhaps more importantly though, embracing his “Money Moicano” personality has garnered a whole new swath of fans for the Brazilian fighter as he looks to continue building his resume.

Since making his UFC debut in 2021, Saint Denis has been must see television every time out. Earning four bonuses in just seven fights, including two Fight of the Nights, Saint Denis’s high-action style earned him a big opportunity his last time out against Dustin Poirier. Unfortunately for “BSD,” Poirier proved to be too much too soon, and now the French fighter hopes to rebuild with a win on home soil over a fan favorite.

Check out the UFC Paris main event live blog below.

MMA Fighting – All Posts


UFC Fight Night: Ziam v Frevola
Fares Ziam | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Fares Ziam got his first finish in the UFC, and it came in absolutely brutal fashion.

On Saturday, Ziam faced veteran UFC lightweight Matt Frevola in the opening main card bout of UFC Paris, and after 13 minutes of fighting, he landed one of the most devastating knees you’ll ever see.

For the first two rounds, Ziam got the better of Frevola, showing superior striking and improved grappling to control most of the action. Then in the third round, Ziam put a stamp on things when in a clinch, he framed Frevola’s head with a forearm and landed a monstrous knee that immediately flattened “The Steamrolla.”

The win is Ziam’s fourth in a row. The French fighter joined the UFC in 2019 where he has amassed a 6-2 record with notable wins over Jamie Mullarkey and Claudio Puelles. After the bout, Ziam called for a shot against a ranked opponent.

Check out the incredible highlight below.

MMA Fighting – All Posts


Jake Paul ripped Conor McGregor for his latest comments.

On Friday, McGregor took part in a live stream hosted by online gambling site Duelbits, where he fielded questions from fans and commented on a number of different topics, ranging from his “Top-5 MMA GOATS” to UFC champions Belal Muhammad and Ilia Topuria to Paul’s upcoming fight with Mike Tyson.

With regard to the latter, McGregor was unkind to Paul saying “I hope Mike rattles the little dope! No one gives a f*ck about him!” And that seems to have struck a nerve with Paul.

On Saturday, Paul responded to McGregor’s rant, saying “Conor McGregor’s crash out needs to be studied” while mocking “Notorious” with a video imitating McGregor’s manic actions and not-so-subtly adding an increasing amount of white powder to his own face.

Paul and McGregor have taken shots at each other over the years, with Paul repeatedly trying to set up a fight with the former two-division UFC champion. Paul faces former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson in an eight-round boxing match on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.

Meanwhile, McGregor has not competed since shattering his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July of 2021. He is expected to make his return in early 2025.

MMA Fighting – All Posts


UFC Fight Night: Barboza v Chikadze
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

Kevin Lee knows he has to take the long road back to prominence, but he still has lofty plans for his career.

The one-time UFC interim title challenger makes his MMA return this Saturday at Lights Out Championship 17, with big goals still in mind; one of which, is earning a fight with current UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

“I want to fight for a world title,” Lee told MMA Fighting. “I just want to fight the best guys. Am I hung up on the organizations? Not really. I want to fight the best guys and the guys that really will give me a challenge, who people feel are unbeatable.

“I think it’s a shame I never got to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov. It’s a shame if I don’t ever get to fight Islam in his career. I think I pose threats for those guys that not a lot of other lightweights do, and I think a lot of people would, would agree with that. So it’d be kind of a shame if they go their whole careers and not fight a wrestler like me.”

“Motown Phenom” faces Thiago Oliveira in his home state of Michigan on Saturday. It’s Lee’s first bout since a 55-second submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov at UFC Vegas 96 in July 2023, which signaled the end to Lee’s second stint with the UFC.

The 32-year-old went 11-8 in 19 octagon appearances, which included a spot in an interim lightweight title fight against Tony Ferguson at UFC 217 in October 2017, when he lost via third-round submission. Since then, Lee is 3-5 over his past eight bouts, which includes an absolutely brutal knockout win over Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244 in November 2019, and a victory over Diego Sanchez for Eagle FC in his bridge-fight between UFC stints.

With so much experience, and more lessons learned than he can imagine, Lee is excited and humbled to hit the reset button and live up to the limitless potential he entered the sport with.

“It feels like at the start of my career again — which in itself has a little bit of excitement to it,” Lee said. “It almost feels like a second chance, it feels like a chance to do it all over again. It’s interesting. I don’t see many people going down this path either, I don’t think a lot of guys, when they get to a certain level, that they’re willing to put their balls on the line. I’ve seen it happen over and over and over again with different guys, and I just don’t model myself after anybody.

“I’m going to do what I feel is in my heart to do, and it’s in my heart to fight and this is the fight that’s in front of me. This is the opportunity that God’s presented me and I’m going to make the most out of it.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts


UFC Fight Night: Moicano v Saint Denis Face-Off
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Renato Moicano was never a fan of Benoit Saint Denis getting a fight against Dustin Poirier because based on rankings and experience, the matchup just didn’t make much sense.

In reality, Saint Denis appeared to be a star on the rise, especially with the UFC looking for marketable fighters coming out of Europe and he made a good accounting for himself before ultimately suffering a second-round knockout loss. Now six months later it’s Moicano who got the call to face Saint Denis in his home country as the main event for UFC Paris on Saturday.

Much like the Poirier fight, Moicano knew the agenda the UFC had in mind before the ink on the contract was dry.

“You’re going to force me to say things that UFC don’t like,” Moicano said when speaking to MMA Fighting. “But I think it’s that — UFC likes Benoit Saint Denis. UFC wants to push Benoit Saint Denis and that’s the truth. He went into the UFC with very good performances. He beat his opponents in a very good fashion but he didn’t face big names. To fight against Dustin Poirier, that’s not an easy fight to get. How many people fight Dustin Poirier? Poirier fought [Conor] McGregor, he fought you name it, in the 155 division he fought everybody, he’s a legend.

“100 percent if you win against Dustin Poirier, you’re in a title shot conversation. That’s why Poirier after Benoit Saint Denis fought for the belt. So 100 percent, they’re trying to push Benoit Saint Denis and I’m not even mad at that.”

As a well-known fan of making money, Moicano can’t fault the UFC for investing in a talented prospect like Saint Denis with hopes that he could become a draw across Europe.

With Conor McGregor missing in action since 2021 and European champions like Leon Edwards no longer holding titles, the UFC needs new names to promote and Saint Denis certainly fits that bill.

“It’s just business,” Moicano said. “I know Europe is a huge market. They don’t have many European fighters doing very well and Benoit Saint Denis is a dangerous fighter. He’s an aggressive fighter and the UFC likes him. He’s young. He’s European. Good marketing, he can make good money for the UFC

“But guess what? UFC called the wrong guy because I’m going over there and I’m beating him.”

Another reason why Moicano knows that Saint Denis is getting a big push from the UFC came after he got the call for the fight to serve as the main event in Paris on Saturday.

On paper, multi-time heavyweight title challenger Ciryl Gane is a more established name with a bigger following but he wasn’t booked for UFC Paris. Instead, he was originally scheduled to clash with Alexander Volkov at UFC 308 until that fight was recently scrapped due to injury.

Meanwhile, Saint Denis is only seven fights into his UFC career but with a fan-friendly style and the French crowd behind him, he’s got that ‘it’ factor that the organization loves.

“I was expecting to see Ciryl Gane,” Moicano said. “We have to ask why Ciryl Gane is not fighting in France and [he was fighting in Abu Dhabi]. That doesn’t make any sense to me. The only sense is they want to build [Saint Denis] up, build him back and right now like you said, a lot of people were paying attention to [my fight at] UFC 300.

“But again, I take my hat off to the UFC because the UFC is the best in the business for a reason. But I will have to prove them wrong again, it’s not the first time.”

Truth be told, Moicano says he’s been doubted his entire life and that even includes his parents telling him to give up on fighting when he was trying to make his way in the sport.

“All my fights throughout my career, I was always the underdog,” Moicano said. “Not only that, being an athlete, everyday I wake up and my father and my mother said ‘you’re not going to make it, give it up, try to find a job.’ I said no, one day they’re going to see. Same thing I feel with the UFC.

“I will push, I will do my best, I will get wins and one day the UFC will have to promote me the way I want to. And to be honest and to be fair, of course on my side I think they are trying to push Benoit Saint Denis but it’s France, main event, the fight is abroad, it’s going to have a lot of cameras, a lot of attention, so I just have to win and be myself and do what I do.”

Whether the spotlight shines brightest on Saint Denis or not, Moicano knows his job remains the same.

He may not have the crowd on his side and the odds say he’s not expected to win but that won’t stop Moicano from doing everything possible to notch his fourth straight win in the UFC>

“I’m going over there and I’m winning,” Moicano said. “I’m doing everything that I need to do to be ready for Sept. 28. I’m not trying to spar really hard and win every round at the gym. I’m not killing myself the way I used to do. I am training very hard, very diligently, but I’m training the way I need to, to be on my peak performance Sept. 28. I’m not f*cking giving up.

“I’m going over there to bring the heat, to bring the show and to win. That’s the truth. I want to win. I want the bonus and I want the double checks.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Copyright © 2010-2026 CombatSports.org All Rights Reserved.