Join us here at Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, and play-by-play (main card) as UFC Paris: Gane vs. Tuivasa goes down from the Accor Arena in Paris, France.
The main event for this fight night is a key heavyweight contender fight, with former interim champion Cyril Gane fighting in his home country for the first time when he battles the streaking Tai Tuivasa. The co-main is just as good, with former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker taking on former challenger Marvin Vettori.
This will be an ESPN+ show but will be kicking off earlier than usual due to the show taking place in Europe. The six-fight preliminary card is scheduled to start at Noon ET/9am PT on ESPN+. The six-fight main card is also on ESPN+, and that is supposed to start at 3pm ET/Noon PT. For areas outside of the United States, you can catch all the scheduled contests on UFC Fight Pass.
Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa
Round 1 – Gane with a low kick. Again. Tuivasa with one. Hard body kick from Gane. Tuivasa with a glancing low kick. Inside leg kick from Gane. They’re chatting. Tuivasa with a nice right over the top. Body kick from Bam Bam. Gane with a jab. The crowd is very loud, singing. Gane with an inside leg kick, and another. Tuivasa with a combo that just misses. Gane with a jab and a head kick. Front kick to the body from Gane. 10-9 Gane.
Round 2 – Leg kick from Tuivasa. Gane fires back with one. Jabs from Gane. Tuivasa with a right hook over the top. Range finder jabs from Gane. Inside leg kick from Gane. Two jabs from the former interim champ. They’re smiling. Gane circling. Tuivasa goes to the body. Jab from Gane as Tuivasa tries to close the distance. Gane shoots but is stuffed. Another jab from Gane. HUGE RIGHT HOOK FROM TUIVASA DROPS GANE! He jumps in but Gane manages to get up! GANE WITH A BIG SHOT AND BODY SHOTS AND TUI IS HURT! TUI WITH A COUNTER LEFT HOOK! THEY’RE BOTH THROWING EVERYTHING! Tuivasa is bloodied up. Gane with jabs. Tuivasa pumps up the crowd. Big right from Gane! WHAT A ROUND! 10-9 Tuivasa.
Round 3 – Let’s go! Front kicks from both to the body. Leg kick from Tuivasa. Tuivasa throws a long right but comes up short. Low kicks from Gane. And jabs. Tai rips the body. Hard jab from Gane. Tuivasa runs away from a shot and trips. And laughs. Body kicks from Gane are hurting Tuivasa. Gane stuns Tuivasa! Gane charges in but Tuivasa throws a wild shot in return! They both land huge shots in a firefight! Gane back to the jab. Tuivasa is double tough. Gane with a jab, Tuivasa with a glancing right. Gane with a front kick. Hard shots from Gane. Two front kicks and Tui is hurt. He takes two more and a right. Just misses with a head kick. Leg kick. Tuivasa is slowing down and hurt. Huge counter right hook stuns Tuivasa again. He drops him with the next left hook! POUNDS HIM OUT! That was a hell of a fight.
Ciryl Gane defeated Tai Tuivasa via KO (strikes), 4:23 of round 3
Robert Whittaker vs. Marvin Vettori
Round 1 – Left from Whittaker. Low kick. Vettori coming up short with punches. Whittaker with a right over the top as Vettori lands an inside leg kick. Vettori feinting and avoiding strikes well. They trade lefts. Head kick from Vettori is blocked. Left from Vettori. Jab from Whittaker, right over the the top from Vettori. Body kick from Bobby Knuckles. Vettori clinches but gets nowhere. Outside leg kick from Whittaker. Whittaker checks a Vettori leg kick. Left over the top from Whittaker. Straight right from Whittaker as Vettori kicks. Knee from Vettori. 10-9 Whittaker.
Round 2 – Whittaker throws a jumping head kick and misses. Vettori misses with a head kick. They clinch up briefly. Oblique kick from Whittaker. Whittaker with a head kick that’s barely blocked. Nice right from Whittaker, and he’s picking up his pace. They trade low kicks. Jab from Vettori. Hard straight right from Whittaker. Head kick stumbles him! Another right! Inside leg kick from Vettori. Clubbing left from Whittaker as Vettori lands a kick. Whittaker with a counter straight left. The right scores again for Whittaker. Oblique kick. Vettori misses with a head kick. Outside leg kick lands. Big step-in right for Whittaker. Easy 10-9 Whittaker.
Round 3 – Front kick to the body from Whittaker. Again. Vettori with a straight left. Inside leg kick from Whittaker. Head kick from Whittaker and Vettori is wobbled! Straight right from Whittaker. He lands a kick that turns into a knee to the head. Reaching left and a right. Vettori is cut. Oblique kick. Outside leg kick. Vettori is still right there but not getting anything going of his own. Right from Whittaker. Two minutes to go. Vettori shoots. Whittaker defends on the cage and they break. Another right from Whittaker. Nice straight left from Whittaker. One minute. Whittaker with a takedown. Vettori pauses on the way up so he can’t get kneed, so Whittaker blasts him with a left. Back on the feet with 30 seconds to go. Head kick from Whittaker is blocked. Right. 10-9 and 30-27 for Bobby Knuckles.
Robert Whittaker defeated Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Nassourdine Imavov vs. Joaquin Buckley
Round 1 – Buckley circling and throwing kicks, none of which are landing. Finally a slapping leg kick. Imavov is taking his time. Leg kick from Buckley as Imavov lands an overhand right. Uppercut from Imavov just misses and they clinch briefly. Buckley loses his mouthpiece from a front kick and they chirp as he gets it back. Buckley shoots but can’t get a takedown. Leg kick from Imavov was caught and he lands a big shot as they clinch. Hard elbow on the break. Imavov with a jab. Buckley charges forward with a combo, landing one of the punches. Imavov with a step-in knee that just misses. They clinch. Imavov with an elbow. Buckley with a combo. Buckley charges across the Octagon for a takedown but gets reversed! Imavov in mount landing hard shots! He takes the back but ran out of time. 10-9 Imavov.
Round 2 – Inside leg kick from Buckley. They trade in the center. Big shot and oblique kick from Imavov. Buckley complains of an eyepoke and the ref calls for a break. Buckley with two head kicks that miss. Imavov with a counter but Buckley clips him with two big shots! Imavov with a hard right. And a straight right. Imavov ducks under and gets a takedown. He’s landing some big punches and takes the back with hooks. Buckley is hand fighting. Punches to the side of the head from Imavov. Body triangle. Elbows. Buckley bleeding from his mouth. Flattens him out, and they roll around. More punches. Buckley survives. 10-9 Imavov.
Round 3 – Buckley throwing hard but not connecting. He lands a nice uppercut there though! Which makes Imavov grab a hold of him and drag him to the mat. Buckley is on his knees and gets up, but Imavov tries again. Hard knee from Imavov and they break. Left hook scores for Buckley. Uppercut from Imavov. Buckley throwing everything he has. Leg kick from Imavov. Imavov is slipping most of his shots. Right lands from Buckley. Imavov shoots but gets stuffed. He gets it to the fence. Big combo from Imavov on the break. 90 seconds to go. Short shot from Imavov. Combo from Buckley, and a head kick. Imavov is tired. Buckley lands some big shots down the stretch while Imavov calls him on. Wow. Buckley 10-9, but 29-28 Imavov.
Nassourdine Imavov defeated Joaquin Buckley (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Alessio Di Chirico vs. Roman Kopylov
Round 1 – Di Chirico with a front kick. Leg kick. Kopylov with his own leg kick. Nice left from Kopylov, check hook back from the Italian fighter. Low kick rom Kopylov. They trade lefts. Kopylov is leading, Di Chirico is landing counters. They trade calf kicks. Kopylov with a jab and avoids the counter. Di Chirico shoots of a kick but Kopylov evades him. Hard body kick from Kopylov. Combo from Kopylov sends Di Chirico stumbling as he was throwing a kick at the time. Nice combo from Kopylov. Shovel hook scores, and a hard kick. Jump knee from Kopylov as Di Chirico shoots. He keeps a hold of Kopylov but can’t take him down. 10-9 Kopylov.
Round 2 – They get to trading right away. Head kick from Kopylov. Inside leg kick. Di Chirico lands a couple of shots. Kopylov with a left and a jab. Di Chirico scoops a single but can’t do anything with it. Nice right from Di Chirico, and again. Big exchange. They clinch up. Knees to the body rom Di Chirico. Kopylov finally spins out and they reset. Hard body kick from Kopylov. They trade. Di Chirico slips on a knee but Kopylov lets him up. Knee from Di Chirico has Kopylov begging off. He lands a body kick though. Left from Kopylov, but he’s slowing down. 10-9 Di Chirico.
Round 3 – Low kick from Kopylov, but two rights from Di Chirico. Jab from Kopylov. Huge combo from Kopylov. Body kick. Hard right from Kopylov. Huge combo against the cage and DI CHIRICO FACE PLANTS! HE’S OUT! WOW!
Roman Kopylov defeated Alessio Di Chirico via KO (punches), 1:09 of round 3
William Gomis vs. Jarno Errens
Round 1 – Lots of feinting to start. Body shot from Errens. Low kick from Gomis, high kick from Errens. Capoeira kick from Errens misses. Jumping switch kick from Gomis misses. Spinning back kick from Gomis lands to the body. They trade body kicks. They flurry in the center. Gomis drags Errens to the ground. Errens closes his guard and stalls things. Gomis eventually moves him over to the cage and lands a few shots. Errens powers his way up. 10-9 Gomis.
Round 2 – Combo from Gomis. Right hook on the break from Errens. Switch kick from Gomis. Nice knee from Errens. Errens landed a hard right that wobbled Gomis. Errens with a knee, but he gets taken down. Closed guard for Errens with his head against the cage. Gomis opens up with some punches. Errens with a brief body triangle. Errens up but eats a combo on the way. Errens presses and they exchange. Errens misses with a head kick. Inside low kick from Gomis. Gomis attacks but Gomis changes levels and gets a takedown. Errens rolls through it and ends up on top, but Gomis gets up right away and looks for a body lock. Errens almost hits a head-and-arm throw but Gomis ends up on top. 10-9 Gomis.
Round 3 – Errens with a quick right. Nice combo from Gomis. Errens with a big shot. Jumping front kick from Gomis. Body kick from Gomis, right from Errens. They clinch. They trade short knees. Gomis gets down on his legs and takes him down. Errens looks for a guillotine but he has no leverage. Body triangle from Errens. Body/head punches from Gomis. Errens tries to scoot but can’t. He almost hits a sweep, but Gomis is pressuring well from the top. Errens squirms and manages to throw up a triangle! Gomis thrashes but he’s still stuck! Errens has an arm too. Gomis is hanging on…and he’s out! Wow! 10-9 Errens but 29-28 Gomis.
William Gomis defeated Jarno Errens via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-29)
Charles Jourdain vs. Nathaniel Wood
Round 1 – Jourdain with some kicks. Night right from Wood. They battle in the clinch, with Jourdain landing knees. Wood takes him down. Jourdain is trying to squirm away but Wood is just holding on to him. Jourdain eventually works his way up and lands two head kicks. Body kick from Wood. Huge shot over the top from Wood and Jourdain is wobbled! He circles away to clear the cobwebs. Jourdain with a jab. Two short uppercuts from Jourdain. Another right from Wood. Wood with a big combo inside. 10-9 Wood.
Round 2 – They’re throwing a lot but evading well. Wood ends up getting Jourdain to the mat again. He’s up quickly though. Jourdain rips a left hook. They trade in close. Wood trips Jourdain to the mat. The crowd is getting restless with the ground work, or lack thereof. The ref stands them up with 1:40 to go. Wood with an outside low kick. More clinch work. Jourdain with a nice shot. Wood with a 1-2 back. Jourdain with a short left. Wood with a right and a hard left hook. Jourdain hits a trip but can’t jump on Wood. Then Wood trips him but same deal. 10-9 Wood.
Round 3 – Jab from Jourdain. Body shots in the clinch too. Wood with another trip. Jourdain tries to roll through but Wood gets a bodylock on his back. He ends up in Jourdain’s guard, then they’re up. Wood with two short elbows. More clinch battling. Jourdain spins and misses. Wood trips him to the mat, but lets him up. Half a round two go. Long striking battle in a phone booth. Jourdain with an uppercut and he finally avoids that trip. Short left from Wood. Jourdain spins and misses again. He eats a straight left and a body kick. Wood with a big shot. They trade hard rights. Jourdain with a jump knee. They beat up the body. Wood with one final trip. 10-9 and 30-27 Wood.
Nathaniel Wood defeated Charles Jourdain via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Main Card (3 PM ET, ESPN+)
Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa
Preliminary Card (12 PM ET, ESPN+)
Abusupiyan Magomedov defeated Dustin Stoltzfus via KO (front kick and punches), :18 of round 1
Nasrat Haqparast defeated John Makdessi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Fares Ziam defeated Michal Figlak via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Benoit Saint Denis defeated Gabriel Miranda via TKO (punches), :16 of round 1
Cristian Quinonez defeated Khalid Taha via TKO (punches), 3:15 of round 1
Stephanie Egger defeated Ailin Perez via submission (rear naked choke), 4:54 of round 2