UFC Has Found It Enjoys Having a French Connection

The UFC likely would have had a UFC Fight Night event in France long before 2022, but mixed martial arts was illegal in France until 2020. Once travel restrictions and other issues caused by the pandemic calmed down, the UFC was able to bring its first-ever event to France. What helps is that France has a local son, Cyril Gane, in the heavyweight title picture.

But this UFC Fight Night event will feature more than just Gane in the main event for the second straight year. There are several other highly-ranked contenders who will be trying to make their name on a fight card set to get some air time on ESPN. This fight night will need some spectacular moments to top what happened to end last week’s card. With the energy from the French crowd and a number of hometown fighters on the card, this has the potential to be an exciting atmosphere.

Gane Set for Step Down in Competition

Gane is a former interim heavyweight champion, but his last few attempts at winning the unified title have been disasters. Last March, Gane fought Jon Jones for the title and was taken down and submitted two minutes into the fight. During Gane’s first title challenge against Francis Ngannou in January 2022, he also lost a wrestle-heavy decision.

Gane had been dominant on his way to the top of the heavyweight rankings. Gane, who is the No. 2 contender, has an 11-2 career record and finished five of his career victories by knockout. This is a key fight for Gane, who may be in line for a title shot with a dominant performance.

Gane will be matched up with No. 7 Sergey Spivak, a wrestler from Moldova. Spivak comes into the bout on a three-fight winning streak, where he finished three victories against veteran opponents. Spivac’s last victory was a first-round submission of former title challenger Derrick Lewis.

Spivak has a 16-3 record but hasn’t faced the same level of competition Gane has. Gane is a much more proficient striker and should make life difficult for Spivak if he can’t get a takedown. After Gane’s last fight, he will want to make sure to show he is able to handle all phases of a fight.

Thug Rose Will Make Return at a Heavier Weight

“Thug” Rose Namajunas will make her return to the octagon following a 19-month absence when she competes at this weeks UFC Fight Night event. The American two-time strawweight champion will be looking to rebound from several disappointments. Losing her title to Carla Esparza was tough enough.

However, Namajunas’ performance, where she was timid and didn’t display much aggression, made things worse. This time around, Namajunas is taking a step up to flyweight to fight No. 2 contender, French standout Manon Fiorot. 

Namajunas, who is ranked No. 2 at strawweight,  is 11-5 in her career but has turned in a number of dynamic performances. She has two victories, including a vicious head-kick knockout, over current champion Zhang Weili. Fiorot has yet to get a UFC title shot.

Fiorot is on a 10-fight winning streak since she opened her career with a split-decision loss. During her five-fight UFC career thus far, Fiorot has produced five victories and two knockouts. She doesn’t yet have a victory over a championship-level fighter like Namajunas. This should be a fascinating battle between two strikers.

Pushing for a Spot in the Top 10

Benoit Saint-Denis has started to gain some momentum and hopes to be the next French fighter to challenge for a top-10 ranking. The 27-year-old served in the French Army Special Forces for five years and saw combat in Mali. During Saint-Denis’ last three fights, he has picked up three consecutive wins by finish.

In Saint-Denis’ last fight, he stopped a rising prospect with an impressive submission that improved his record to 11-1. On Saturday, Saint-Denis will be tasked with trying to turn back Brazilian veteran Thiago Moises. Moises is an excellent grappler and has finished eight of his 17 victories by submission. 

During Moises’ last fight, he wrapped up Melquizel Costa for submission in the second round. Both Moises and Saint-Denis are well-rounded fighters and should be able to lock up for an interesting matchup.

Gomis Hopes to Make a Name for Himself

William Gomis is a French featherweight fighter riding a 10-fight winning streak. Gomis only has two UFC fights under his belt but has ground out two consecutive decision victories to start his time in the promotion. Gomis has seen six of his 14 career fights go the distance. 

Gomis will be tasked with trying to stop Brazilian action fighter Lucas Almedia at this weeks UFC Fight Night event. Almedia is 1-1 thus far in the UFC, having lost a fight by submission to Pat Sabatini during his last trip to the octagon. Almedia is 14-2 in his career but doesn’t have much experience trying to take down top competition.

European Battle Set to Kick off UFC Fight Night Main Card

Yanis Ghemmouri will look to set off the positive vibes for French fighters when he opens the main card at this weeks UFC Fight Night offering as an underdog against Caolan Loughran in a bantamweight bout. Ghemmouri is on a nine-fight winning streak and has racked up four submissions and three knockouts.

Loughran is 8-0 thus far in his career. He has five knockouts and two submissions in said career. Loughran will be the fifth Irish fighter on the UFC’s roster.

Filling out the Lineup

The undercard is set to feature six fights. There was supposed to be a seventh fight, but a lightweight fight between Nasrat Haqparast and Sam Patterson was canceled when Patterson pulled out with health issues.

Here’s a look at the bottom of the card for the event set for Accor Arena in France.

• Featherweight, Morgan Charriete vs. Manolo Zecchini.
• Bantamweight, Taylor Lapilus vs. Muin Gafuurov.
• Women’s Bantamweight, Zarah Fairn dos Santos vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti.
• Women’s Bantamweight, Joselyne Edwards vs. Nora Cornolle.
• Welterweight, Ange Loosa vs. Rhys McKee.
• Bantamweight, Farid Basharat vs. Kledyson Rodrigues.