Renato Moicano stops Benoit Saint-Denis in blood-filled UFC Paris ...

SAINT-DENNIS – Renato Moicano upset Benoit Saint-Denis in the latter’s home city of Paris in an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fight Night event on Sept 28.

He utilised his poise, top control and crisp boxing to complete the job with a second-round doctor-stoppage technical knockout.

An early takedown from Moicano stifled Saint-Denis’ potent striking ability. Moicano controlled the positioning well, utilising his side control and mount positions effortlessly. Several elbows followed to visibly cut Saint-Denis, along with a rear naked choke attempt.

Moicano maintained top control for over three minutes. Despite half of Saint-Denis’ face covered in blood from a flurry of ground and pound, particularly in his left eye, the fight continued.

Moicano outstruck Saint-Denis 30-4, further establishing his dominance in Round 1.

Even though Saint-Denis was compromised, Round 2 saw him show signs of heart and perseverance. He won the round by keeping the fight on his feet and allowing Moicano to second-guess himself for not getting the initial finish minutes earlier.

The victory for Moicano was his fifth in a row, while Saint-Denis has dropped his last two fights.

Moicano called for “easy fights” moving forward in his post-fight interview, saying: “I want easy money – Paddy Pimblett and Dan Hooker. I don’t want fights 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.”

Nassourdine Imavov won a middleweight title eliminator against Brendan Allen via unanimous decision in the night’s co-headliner. Imanov has won three in a row and called for a fight with champion Dricus du Plessis.

A timetable for that is unclear at press time. Du Plessis successfully retained the belt against Israel Adesanya in August in his first title defence.

Allen’s first loss since December 2021 was when he faced Chris Curtis in the first of a two-fight series. Allen had previously won seven in a row, five by rear naked choke.

William Gomis edged out Joanderson Brito in a back-and-forth three-round split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). The win was Gomis’ 12th-straight, remaining unbeaten in the UFC.

Other main-card action saw Bryan Battle silence the Accor Arena crowd with a second-round TKO against Kevin Jousset in a welterweight bout.

The victory improved Battle’s UFC mark to 6-1, with one no contest, extending his streak to three. It was Jousset’s first loss since July 2022.

The knockouts kept coming in Paris. After a heavy wrestling-based Round 1, Morgan Charriere delivered a one-punch finish of Gabriel Miranda, leaving no doubt after entering as the card’s biggest betting favourite. The win was Charriere’s second in the UFC and his first win of 2024.

Fares Ziam scored a late third-round finish against Matt Frevola with a knee to Frevola’s jaw, which sent him straight to the canvas. Frevola was tended to by cage-side doctors, while Ziam celebrated his 16th mixed martial arts win to open main-card action.

The event marked the UFC’s third-straight annual trip to Paris.

The promotion turns the page to Oct 5 for UFC 307, headlined by Alex Pereira and Khalil Rountree for Pereira’s light heavyweight title in Salt Lake City, Utah. REUTERS