UFC Paris: Who are the French fighters on the card?
By Alec Arritola
The UFC is heading to Paris this Saturday for its first-ever event in la République. Of the twelve bouts, five feature French fighters. Here are all of the hometown heroes on the fight card.
On Jan. 1, 2020, France legalized professional and amateur mixed martial arts bouts. Two years later, the UFC will finally make its Parisian debut in the Accor Arena for UFC Paris: Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa. Five of the twelve fights will showcase French fighters, including the former interim heavyweight champion.
The first French fighter in the preliminaries is lightweight Benoît “God of War” Saint-Denis. UFC Paris will mark the 26-year-old’s third UFC appearance, having gone 1-1 in his first two. Saint-Denis (9-1) is a spectacular submission specialist, with eight of his nine wins coming by five different kinds of submissions: rear-naked choke, guillotine choke, arm-triangle choke, armbar, and kneebar.
Immediately following Saint-Denis is a fellow countryman Nassourdine “Russian Sniper” Imavov (11-3). Although Imavov was born in Dagestan, he represents France in his fights and resides in Salon-de-Provence. He is ranked as Tapology‘s No. 12 best middleweight in the world.
Former interim heavyweight champion Gane is certainly not the only French fighter at UFC Paris
The next French fighter after Imavov is Farès “Smile Killer” Ziam (12-4). The 25-year-old lightweight is a versatile fighter, holding five wins by knockout, four by submission, and three by decision. He will be facing an undefeated Michal Figlak, who is the No. 4-ranked lightweight in the United Kingdom.
Moving to the main card, Parisian featherweight William “Jaguar” Gomis (10-2) will make his UFC debut after amassing an impressive eight-fight win streak in promotions like Ares FC, UAE Warriors, and Cage Warriors. He is the fourth and final French fighter on the card before the main event with Gane and Tuivasa.
Top 30 MMA knockouts of all time. dark. Next