UFC Paris blew the roof off Accor Arena yesterday (Sat., Sept. 2, 2023) after hometown hero, Ciryl Gane, stopped Serghei Spivac in the second round with an array of strikes (see it again here). In the co-main event, Manon Fiorot made her case for a shot at the women’s Flyweight title after defeating former women’s Strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas.
Winner: Ciryl Gane
Who He Should Face Next: Sergei Pavlovich
After getting back on the winning track, Gane will likely be paired up with Pavlovich in a title eliminator fight. While most believe Pavlovich has done more than enough to get the winner of Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic, there are too many factors at play. For starters, that title fight won’t take place until November 11, 2023 at UFC 295, which means the winner likely won’t want to defend the strap until 2024. That would leave both Pavlovich and Gane playing the waiting game. Instead, why not book Gane and Pavlovich to see who gets the next title shot?
Winner: Manon Fiorot
Who She Should Face Next: Erin Blanchfield
Alexa Grasso is set to defend her women’s flyweight title against former champion, Valentina Shevchenko in a couple of weeks and either Fiorot and Blanchfield would make a good candidate to get the winner. Of course, there are several things that could go down, such as a trilogy fight between Grasso and Shevchenko pending the results, which means a long wait for Fiorot or Blanchfield. The logical thing to do is to book Fiorot and Blanchfield to determine the next title contender.
Winner: Benoit Saint-Denis
Who He Should Face Next: Joel Alvarez
Since dropping down to the Lightweight division, Saint-Denis has earned four straight stoppage victories, including his impressive win over Thiago Moises last night (see it). Up next for “God of War,” a showdown against Alvarez seems like a good pairing. Alvarez is coming off a submission win over Marc Diakiese this past July, putting him at 5-1 over his last six fights. Interestingly enough, Alvarez also has a technical knockout (TKO) win over Moises.
Winner: Volkan Oezdemir
Who He Should Face Next: Azamat Murzakanov
Oezdemir got back in the win column after submitting UFC debutante Bogdan Guskov in the very first round (see it). “No Time” was originally set to face Murzakanov at this event before he pulled out of the event for undisclosed reasons. That said, despite Oezdemir’s win, I don’t see how he gets matched up against someone ranked ahead of him at the moment, but taking on and defeating Murzakanov (No. 12) may change all of that.
Winner: William Gomis
Who He Should Face Next: Billy Quarantillo
Gomis picked up his eleventh straight win, third inside the Octagon, by stopping Yanis Ghemmouri with a vicious body kick. He is slowly starting to make an impact in the Featherweight division, and a few more impressive victories could get him into the Top 15. A fight and victory over an established veteran like Billy Quarantillo could expedite that process. Quarantillo is fresh off a unanimous decision win over Damon Jackson last month but is just 3-3 in his last six fights inside the Octagon.
Winner: Morgan Charrière
Who He Should Face Next: Sergey Morozov
Charriere earned an explosive UFC debut by stopping Manolo Zecchini via technical knockout (video here). With the win “The Last Pirate” ups his win streak to four in a row. As for Morozov, he is currently on a two-fight win streak and was last seen in action in Dec. 2022 when he defeated Journey Newson via unanimous decision. Overall, Morozov is 3-2 inside the Octagon. While he obviously has more UFC experience than Charriere, this clash of styles would make for a good contest.
For complete UFC Paris results, coverage, and highlights click HERE