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Benoit Saint Denis looks to make it a trio of triumphs in his return to Paris.

The lightweight contender takes on Renato Moicano in Saturday’s UFC Paris headliner in front of a supportive French crowd and in a city where he has never lost. Saint Denis has twice competed in his nation’s capital, both times scoring second-round knockouts, against Thiago Moises in 2023 and Gabriel Miranda in 2022.

If he can put away Moicano, it will reestablish Saint Denis as a potential title challenger in one of MMA’s deepest divisions. Saint Denis is coming off of his first UFC loss, a Fight of the Night defeat at the hands of lightweight legend Dustin Poirier, and he has the chance to prove his thrilling five-fight win streak wasn’t lightning in a bottle.

Moicano has become appointment viewing and not just because he’s won three straight. His “Money” persona has captivated fans as he generates anticipation for what he’ll do in his fights and what he’ll say after whenever he makes the walk to the octagon. It’s anyone’s guess what he’ll have in store for a sea of disgruntled Parisians should he beat Saint Denis.

In the co-main event, Nassourdine Imavov is tasked with defending his spot against a highly motivated Brendan Allen. “All In” isn’t happy with how the UFC has ranked him, and he’s eager to take out his frustrations on Imavov, while moving one step closer to the top 5 of the division.

Also on the main card, William Gomis and Joanderson Brito battle for a spot in the featherweight top 15, welterweights Kevin Jousset and Bryan Battle put their undefeated streaks on the line, former Cage Warriors featherweight champion Morgan Charriere takes on Gabriel Miranda, and Fares Ziam takes on the always exciting Matt Frevola in the lightweight opener.

What: UFC Paris

Where: Accor Arena in Paris

When: Saturday, Sept. 28. The eight-fight preliminary card begins at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by a six-fight main card at 3 p.m. ET also on ESPN+.

(Numbers in parentheses indicate standing in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings)

Renato Moicano (12) vs. Benoit Saint Denis (14)

Can Renato Moicano outlast Benoit Saint Denis? That’s really the question.

Moicano has a history of defusing fighters that are perceived to be heavier hitters than him. Consider how he used his elite jiu-jitsu to ground Jalin Turner, Drew Dober, and Brad Riddell. And that stems from his willingness to stand and scrap too. His grappling compliments his striking and vise-a-versa. He’s just effective enough on the feet to force his opponents to respect him and leave gaps in their defense.

When it comes to Saint Denis, the gaps aren’t hard to find, it’s exploiting them that’s the problem. The French star fights with a physicality that’s nearly unmatched at 170 pounds and he’s more than capable of bridging the experience gap by sheer force of will. That’s why I expect him to win on Saturday.

Moicano is the more skilled, more well-rounded fighter, but it’s fair to question his durability. He has to last at least two hard rounds with Saint Denis, and I don’t see that happening. His past losses have come when he is just overwhelmed, and Saint Denis will have 20,000 hollering fans backing his attack.

Saint Denis finishes in the first.

Pick: Saint Denis

Nassourdine Imavov (T7) vs. Brendan Allen (8)

Yes, it’s time for everyone’s favorite game show: AK Lee Picks Against Brendan Allen!

Your contestants today, Nassourdine Imavov and, of course, our returning champion currently on a seven-fight win streak, Brendan Allen, ladies and gentlemen!

I’ve picked against Allen in four straight predictions pieces, and for his sake, I’m doing it again. Not that I believe in any kind of superstitions, but in the off chance they exist, I might just reverse jinx Allen all the way to a freaking UFC title fight. And if I pick against him there… anything is possible.

There are more substantial reasons to pick Imavov to win, too. The Frenchman’s specialty is timing and precision, and when he’s able to effectively control the distance, he looks like one of the best strikers in the middleweight division. He’s strong enough to not be out-muscled if Allen wants to grapple and won’t shy away from a takedown attempt if the opportunity presents itself.

Allen’s preference is to come forward and pressure, a strategy that has served him well during this impressive run of form. If he can cut off the cage and keep Imavov stuck to the fence, it could be another check in the W column for “All In.”

Sticking with the rules of this game show, I’m picking Imavov by decision.

Pick: Imavov

William Gomis vs. Joanderson Brito

This matchup between William Gomis and Joanderson Brito has a real matador and bull feel to it.

Gomis has carved out a nice niche for himself as one of the craftiest fighters in the featherweight division. That hasn’t always resulted in the most memorable performances, but a win is a win, and there are a lot of worse things to be than 145-pound Leon Edwards (look how well that worked out for Edwards!).

On the other side, Brito does everything with force and intention to finish. He grapples hard, he throws hard, he even fights hard off of his back. Brito is a world-class risk taker and there’s no scenario where he isn’t looking to take the advantage and set himself up for a knockout or submission.

I see Brito’s swashbuckling style paying off eventually. He’ll endure some early frustration before dialing up the offense in Round 2, hurting Gomis on the feet, and finishing with a submission.

Pick: Brito

Kevin Jousset vs. Bryan Battle

One big change for Kevin Jousset in this matchup is he’s going from an opponent in Song Kenan that he had a reach advantage over, to an opponent in Bryan Battle that has the reach advantage over him.

That’s oversimplifying this matchup, but Jousset has gotten a lot of mileage out of an effective jab and well-timed leg kicks. He’ll find the rangy Battle is considerably more difficult to outpoint from distance. Fortunately for Jousset, he brings a solid grappling background to the table, so that could be the path he takes to keep his win streak going.

Battle has been calling for a step up in competition and while Jousset is more of a lateral move, it’s the test Battle needs to show he’s truly ready to graduate to the next tier of welterweights. The Ultimate Fighter 29 winner has the tools to be a mainstay of the division, but needs seasoning with just 13 pro bouts under his belt.

This will be a closely contested, ahem, battle, that Battle will edge out on the scorecards after a hard-fought, three round battle.

Man, I wrote battle so many times there.

Pick: Battle

Morgan Charriere vs. Gabriel Miranda

Is it too severe to call this a make-or-break fight for Morgan Charriere?

I’m still of the opinion the former Cage Warriors featherweight champion can be a player in the UFC’s 145-pound division, but he has to deliver on Saturday if he’s to be taken seriously as a contender. “The Last Pirate” is one of the biggest favorites on the card, hovering around 5-to-1 on most sportsbooks.

He’s been granted a favorable matchup in Gabriel Miranda, a high-pace fighter with questionable defensive skills. Charriere shouldn’t be timid in this matchup because Miranda certainly won’t be, and if Miranda sets the tone early, his pressure could make Charriere wilt.

As versatile as Charriere is, he should be smart here and stick to sprawling and brawling, as it were. He has a significant advantage on the feet and should be able to frustrate Miranda with his takedown defense before letting his hands and feet go. I’m predicting a highlight-reel knockout win for Charriere.

Pick: Charriere

Fares Ziam vs. Matt Frevola

One way or another, this one shouldn’t go to the judges and that’s good news for Matt Frevola.

With respect to Fares Ziam—a fine technical striker that looks like he’s capable of challenging elite lightweights when he’s at his best—sometimes you’ve got to just kick some ass and that’s what Frevola always signs up for. Ziam will keep this as technical as he can for as long as he can before Frevola just rushes in and breaks the door down.

Who knows? Maybe the counter-heavy Ziam will find Frevola’s chin and finish his first fight in five years (yikes!). Or maybe this will turn into a crowd-pleasing slugfest that goes the distance. But my prediction is Frevola risks it all to crack Ziam and hand him his first knockout loss.

Pick: Frevola

Preliminaries

Ivan Erslan def. Ion Cutelaba

Oumar Sy def. Da Un Jung

Ludovit Klein def. Roosevelt Roberts

Taylor Lapilus def. Vince Morales

Darya Zheleznyakova def. Ailin Perez (15)

Daniel Barez def. Victor Altamirano

Nora Cornolle (T13) def. Jacqueline Cavalcanti

Bolaji Oki def. Chris Duncan

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

UFC Bantamweight prospect Ailin Perez (10-2) didn’t look so good on the scale earlier on Friday (Sept. 27, 2024) at the official weigh-ins for UFC Paris. The Argentinian talent missed weight by 1.6 pounds, and she could barely managed to step up onto the scale … but still did a shaky arm flex! It was an ugly scene, but in classic UFC fashion, her fight opposite Dariya Zheleznyakova will continue unabated aside from a fine.

Fighters missing weight isn’t terribly uncommon, and even collapsing in the attempt happens every couple years. This time around, however, there’s a bit of irony involved. Back in July, Tracy Cortez really struggled to make weight for her main event opportunity against Rose Namajunas, ultimately cutting some of her hair to hit the mark.

Perez criticized the (ultimately successful) move online, writing, “Wow [Tracy Cortez] you really had to cut your hair to make weight. You were gifted an amazing opportunity to be a main event versus a former UFC champ and you barely made it. LOL.”

Well, Cortez didn’t forget the slight. On X, she clapped back at Perez’s weight miss with a couple of tweets, recognizing the overall irony of Perez missing weight after talking trash just a few months ago. She wrote, “Y’all wont catch me talking sh-t here on social media BUT my oh MY how the tables have turned 136.6 lol.”

She also added, “The [Only Fans] will help you with that 20% deduction [to Perez’s fight purse].”

Perez enters UFC Paris having won three in a row to score the No. 15 spot at 135-pounds. She’s perhaps better known for her viral twerking videos, wild fight week brawls, and financially successful OnlyFans account. Based on this video from after the weigh-ins with newly crowned champion Merab Dvalishvili, Perez isn’t too upset by the whole situation.

Insomnia

Conor McGregor with a fiery rant in response to Ilia Topuria’s recent comments …

“Preparation for the upcoming fight has begun.” Shavkat title shot confirmed?

One former One Championship athlete claiming shady behavior from the promotion. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire?

Talented young knockout artists Mairon Santos and Kevin Vallejo have made the matchmaker’s job easy by booking their own fight.

Every time I see a Jiri training clip now, I think about how badly I want to see him fight Dricus Du Plessis. It just sounds so hilarious!

A quick check in on Bryce Mitchell … I generally make it a point to watch all the videos in these posts in full, but I lasted about 30 seconds here.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Professional boxing culture is so, so much colder than MMA culture.

Red shorts’ high chin gave me a bad feeling immediately.

I’ve never been any good at it personally, but I love the double low kick technique (even if blue seems underprepared).

Random Land

A cool frame of reference.

Midnight Music: Not a hot take, hidden gem, or controversial pick by any means, but …. here’s an all-time great guitar riff.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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After a weekend off, the UFC returns to action this Saturday with UFC Paris. Headlined by a top 15 lightweight matchup between Renato Moicano and Benoit Saint Denis, the card also features 13 other fights for your betting action, so let’s dive in on which bouts you should be betting.

All odds are courtesy of our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Straight Bets

Renato Moicano (+220)

The main event is one heck of a fight, and I love Saint Denis, but he’s overvalued in this matchup.

“BSD” is a force of violent nature who is going to come in slugging on the feet and shooting 100 takedowns a minute. It’s an effective style, but one Moicano is poised to take advantage of. Moicano is an excellent grappler in his own right and a good enough striker to have success against the many openings Saint Denis leaves on the feet. Most importantly though is the cardio. This is a five-round fight, and Saint Denis’s style doesn’t lend itself to protracted slogs. If he can’t finish Moicano early, “Money” is going to take this thing to deep waters.

Brendan Allen (+184)

In the co-main event (which arguably should be the main event given the rankings of the fighters involved), Brendan Allen takes on Nassourdine Imavov in a top 10 middleweight battle. And like in the main event, there’s value on the underdog.

Allen is on a seven-fight win streak and has truly come into his own as a fighter. He’s an extremely dangerous grappler and an improving striker. Imavov also appears to be on the rise, but I think he’s getting a bit of a bump from oddsmakers here for his win over Jared Cannonier, who is clearly past his prime. Allen can stay competitive on the feet and has a clear advantage on the floor. I like Allen to win this fight outright.

Nora Cornolle (+176)

Cornolle faces Jacqueline Cavalcanti in a prelim women’s bantamweight bout that’s actually a rematch, and I like her changes to get the win.

Cavalcanti has never impressed me, in part because of her total disinterest in finishing fights. She’s a decent kickboxer, but she’s all volume and very little danger. That’s not Cornolle’s problem whatsoever. Cornolle is a tank of a woman.

Photo by Leandro Bernardes/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Prop Bets

Joanderson Brito by KO/TKO or Submission (+105)b

Brito faces William Gomis in the feature fight of the evening, and I believe this will be the Chute Boxe fighter’s big breakout.

Brito is a nightmare of a fighter to deal with, having beaten Diego Lopes on Contender Series. Since falling short in his UFC debut against Bill Algeo, the Brazilian has been hell on wheels for everyone he’s fought. Five fights in a row, five finishes against an increasing level of opposition have Brito on the cusp of a featherweight ranking, and given how dangerous he is in all phases, I like his chances against the more reserved Gomis. And when Brito wins, he wins big, as he’s only gone to a decision three times in his 21-fight career, so I like him to get a finish as well.

Wrap Up

With another week off, the last time we were here it was UFC 306 and it was a losing weekend for us. Alas. But now we’ve got a good stretch of events to make it back, starting with Paris. Let’s go!

Until next week, enjoy the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!

All information in this article is provided to readers of MMA Fighting for entertainment, news, and amusement purposes only. It is the responsibility of the reader to learn and abide by online gambling laws in their region before placing any online sports betting wagers.

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UFC

MMA Fighting has UFC Paris results for the Moicano vs. Saint Denis fight card, a live blog of the main event, and more from Accor Arena in Paris on Saturday afternoon.

In the main event, Renato Moicano and Benoit Saint Denis square off in a lightweight contest. Moicano and Saint Denis have both won four of their past five fights.

Nassourdine Imavov and Brendan Allen clash in a middleweight contest in the co-main event.

Check out UFC Paris results below.

Main Card (ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET)

Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint Denis

Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen

William Gomis vs. Joanderson Brito

Kevin Jousset vs. Bryan Battle

Morgan Charriere vs. Gabriel Miranda

Fares Ziam vs. Matt Frevola

Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET)

Ion Cutelaba vs. Ivan Erslan

Oumar Sy vs. Da Un Jung

Ludovit Klein vs. Roosevelt Roberts

Taylor Lapilus vs. Vince Morales

Darya Zheleznyakova vs. Ailin Perez

Daniel Barez vs. Victor Altamirano

Nora Cornolle vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti

Bolaji Oki vs. Chris Duncan

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Devin Haney isn’t done with Ryan Garcia.

Garcia defeated Haney this past April in a highly controversial bout that saw Garcia miss weight for the 140-pound contest—rendering him ineligible to win Haney’s WBC super lightweight title—and then have his win overturned when it was later announced that he tested positive for a banned substance.

Haney’s team subsequently wrote a letter to the New York State Athletic Commission calling for Garcia to be disqualified and are now taking legal recourse. On Friday, the boxer filed a lawsuit against Garcia alleging battery, fraud, and unjust enrichment from the April 20 contest, according to a report from Boxing Scene.

“Devin is a consummate professional and Ryan Garcia has shown no respect for himself, the business or the sport,” Haney’s father and coach Bill Haney told Boxing Scene. “Devin is the face of boxing because he has challenged the franchise in many ways – by working with multiple promoters, by crossing the sides of the street (among broadcasters), and now he’s challenging PED use. This is all for the good of the sport.”

Garcia has already faced sanctions from the NYSAC. In June, the boxer reached a settlement with the commission, accepting a $ 1.1 million fine and a one-year suspension from competition for the failed drug test. He had also made a public bet with Haney that resulted in Garcia paying Haney $ 600,000 after he weighed in three pounds over the limit for their fight.

On fight night, Garcia scored three knockdowns en route to a majority decision win; however, that win is now officially a no-contest and Haney’s undefeated record has been restored at 31-0.

According to Haney’s attorney Pat English, there was specific language in the bout agreement signed by Garcia in which the boxer guaranteed he would not use performance-enhancing drugs. Garcia has become known for his troubling behavior in public and on social media, which necessitated extra precautions on the Haney side.

“At no time did Devin Haney consent to engage in a bout against a boxer who was positive for a performance-enhancing drug, performance enhancing-procedure or masking agent and would not have proceeded with the bout had he known,” English wrote in Friday’s filing, according to Boxing Scene. “The New York State Athletic Commission would not have permitted the bout had it known of the positive finding or of Garcia’s IV use.

“Adding insult to the Commission and to the sport of boxing, Mr. Garcia has alleged that he was ‘high as f*ck during’ his bout with Mr. Haney. This very clearly brings disrepute on the sport of boxing and by derivation on the New York State Athletic Commission.”

The lawsuit alleges battery due to Haney suffering “physical injury, reputational damage which will amount to millions of dollars, and emotional and mental distress,” fraud due to Garcia’s weight miss and positive drug test, and unjust enrichment due to Garcia receiving his purse and a share of the pay-per-view profits.

“Under the terms of that consent order, Ryan Garcia must return the (guaranteed, non-pay-per-view earnings) purse he has been paid to his promoter, Golden Boy,” the lawsuit reads. “Devin Haney and Devin Haney Inc. are contractually entitled to 47 percent of all profits for the bout and is thus entitled to 47 percent of the funds required to be returned … Golden Boy has asserted that it will not share its extra profits from the bout as a result of the forfeiture ordered by the New York Athletic Commission. This constitutes a breach of contract by Golden Boy and /or and /or unjust enrichment to Golden Boy.”

**UPDATE**

Garcia responded to Haney’s lawsuit with an Instagram post on Friday, making light of the situation and mocking Haney.

“I’m being sued for doing my job.

“This fight has been a Netflix documentary but this right here is the finale.

“Your honor he simply struggles with left hook syndrome.”

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