Tag: UFC Paris

UFC announces return to Paris on September 28

French MMA fans will get a UFC show for the third consecutive year.

French MMA fans will get a UFC show for the third consecutive year as the promotion will return to Paris on Sept. 28 with a UFC Fight Night event at Accor Arena, officials announced Tuesday morning.

No fights were included in the announcement.

The first two UFC Paris shows were headlined by French star and former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane. Gane knocked out Tai Tuivasa at the inaugural show in September 2022 and scored a second-round Performance of the Night TKO of Serghei Spivac in September 2023.

UFC Fight Night 226 last September also featured ranked fighters Manon Fiorot and Benoit Saint Denis. Fiorot outlasted former champion Rose Namajunas in the co-main event, and Saint Denis sent the crowd into a frenzy with a Round 2 knockout of Thiago Moises.

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Rose Namajunas admits she contemplated retirement after UFC strawweight title loss to Carla Esparza

Rose Namajunas pondered walking away from MMA after losing her belt last May.

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] pondered walking away from MMA after losing her belt last May.

Namajunas (11-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) lost her strawweight belt to Carla Esparza at UFC 274, in what was a dud of a title fight with little to no action. It was an uncharacteristic performance from Namajunas, who has thrilled fans in the past with knockouts of Joanna and Zhang Weili to capture gold.

It’s not the first time former two-time UFC strawweight champion Namajunas has thought about hanging up her gloves, but the time off made her realize that she still has fight left in her.

“I definitely thought I was done for a good amount of time,” Namajunas said on The MMA Hour. “There’s definitely a number of things, but the way that I felt going into the locker room, I just didn’t feel aggressive and I felt like, ‘I don’t really want to hurt anybody.’ So I was like, ‘Yeah, I guess I’m done.’ There were a bunch of other factors that went into it, but it’s obviously not the first time that I questioned whether I should keep doing this or not.

“I already achieved becoming a champion, defending a champion belt, losing it, and then even at that point when I lost it and was on my way to when I decided to rematch (Jessica) Andrade, and I wanted her because I wanted to fix that mistake. I never thought in my mind I was going to make it to the belt again. That was the last thing on my mind.”

Namajunas pointed to the violent aspect of the sport and how she questioned if that part still existed in her after an uneventful loss to Esparza.

“After Carla, there was more than just the feeling of not really wanting to partake in violence,” Namajunas said. “It was a spiritual thing and I just kind of questioned whether or not God wanted me to keep going. Maybe this isn’t part of a Godly life.

“I came back around to like, ‘No, this is definitely what God has called me to do.’ He has special gifts for everybody. Some people are warriors, and some people are creatures. I’ve been gifted with the warrior spirit and something special. I know I don’t have a ton of time left, but I know He’s not finished with me yet in this chapter.”

Namajunas will enter a different chapter in her career when she makes her flyweight debut against top contender Manon Fiorot (10-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) at a UFC Fight Night event on Sept. 2 at Accor Arena in Paris.

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Robert Whittaker defends UFC champ Israel Adesanya’s recent performances: ‘Winning is all that matters’

Many have criticized UFC champion Israel Adesanya for his recent performances – but Robert Whittaker won’t.

PARIS – Many have criticized UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] for his recent performances – but [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] won’t.

Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) has gone the distance in his past three title defenses, including a close decision win over Whittaker at UFC 271 in February. Whittaker (24-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC), who’s come up short to Adesanya twice, was asked about Adesanya being dubbed a “boring” fighter and but said he can’t fault him as long as he’s getting his hand raised.

“I’m pretty sure he’s just paid to win,” Whittaker told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC Fight Night 209. “You know, and that’s the most important thing whether it’s boring or not. You can have the most exciting fight of the night. If you lose, no one is talking about you tomorrow.

“As cold as it sounds, winning is all that matters. If I could just take someone down and hold them down until someone took them home, I would. Love my fans, but I would happily hug someone on the ground for 25 minutes if that gets me the W. That’s the sport we’re in.”

Whittaker has defeated every opponent at middleweight except for Adesanya. He shut down former title challenger Marvin Vettori this past Saturday, which leaves him in a bit of a quandary.

But “The Reaper” isn’t worried and is willing to knock off every contender until he gets another crack at the belt.

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Daniel Cormier: Robert Whittaker needs change at top, doesn’t have style to beat Israel Adesanya

Daniel Cormier doesn’t see Robert Whittaker reclaiming the UFC middleweight title as long as Israel Adesanya is champion.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] doesn’t see [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] reclaiming the UFC middleweight title as long as [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] is champion.

Outside of two losses to Adesanya, Whittaker (24-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) hasn’t lost at middleweight. His resume includes wins over Yoel Romero twice, Kelvin Gastelum, Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and most recently former title challenger Marvin Vettori this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 209.

So where does that leave Whittaker? Cormier said the best-case scenario is if Alex Pereira dethrones Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) when they square off in the UFC 281 main event on Nov. 12.

“I think Robert Whittaker is so clearly ahead of everyone else,” Cormier said on his “DC & RC” ESPN show. “When you put him in there, he’s just gonna keep winning, and that is where the problem lies in the middleweight division, because you have a clear No.1, and you have a clear No. 2. You have a clear No. 1-A essentially, because outside of Robert Whittaker losing to Izzy, nobody else can beat him.”

He continued, “He’s better than everyone but the champion, which is not something to be ashamed of when you’ve held the championship before. So for him, it’s not as much about going out there and beating everyone else. It’s beating everyone else but also hoping for a little bit of luck. He needs Alex Pereira to win the fight in November.”

While Max Holloway recently got a third crack at Alexander Volkanovski after losing to him twice, Cormier just doesn’t see Whittaker getting a trilogy with Adesanya or beating him.

“It’s not about getting back to Izzy,” Cormier said. “He needs change at the top, because he doesn’t seem to have the style to really deal with Adesanya’s length. His issue with Adesanya is Adesanya is too tall. The style makes it difficult for him, but he’ll beat everyone else.”

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Not only does Cormier think Whittaker should hope for Pereira to become champion, but he needs the Brazilian to beat Adesanya convincingly so the division can move on.

“He needs something different to happen at middleweight,” Cormier said. “Something very definitive. So if Pereira goes out there, and he starches Izzy, then maybe you start going, ‘Maybe Izzy cannot fight him right back,’ because if you remember, Jose Aldo got knocked out so clearly (by Conor McGregor) that they moved on. Leon Edwards can’t move on, because he was getting beaten and then he got the finish at the end (vs. Kamaru Usman).

“But if Pereira can do something very definitive, that is what Robert Whittaker needs if he hopes to find himself fighting for a championship again. Something definitive in a win from Alex Pereira. If it ain’t definitive, Izzy will get an immediate rematch even if he loses.”

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William Gomis was ‘ready to die’ rather than tap out vs. Jarno Errens at UFC Fight Night 209

William Gomis wasn’t about quit in front of his hometown fans at UFC Paris.

PARIS – [autotag]William Gomis[/autotag] wasn’t about quit in front of his hometown fans at UFC Fight Night 209.

Gomis (11-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) defeated Jarno Errens by majority decision this past Saturday at Accor Arena, where he was caught in a deep triangle-choke with just a minute left in the fight. But the MMA Factory Paris fighter managed to muster the energy to pop his head out and survive Errens’ last-ditch effort.

“In my mind, I can’t say stop,” Gomis told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “I’m ready to die. I’m in Paris. My public is here. I’m ready to die. I just need to wait one minute and win this fight.”

Gomis predicted an easy knockout in his pre-fight interview, but during the contest he saw wrestling as a path to victory.

“I felt good. My opponent is a good striker. It’s very hard to be better than him in striking, and I see that I can be a better wrestler,” Gomis said.

He continued, “I feel the pressure, because I see a lot of media, a lot of people sent me messages. Yeah, pressure, but I’m someone who’s very cool. For me, it’s easy to calm down.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Cristian Quinonez reveals he broke his hand in UFC Fight Night 209 win

Cristian Quinonez’ win at UFC Fight Night 209 was quick, but he didn’t come out unscathed. 

PARIS – [autotag]Cristian Quinonez[/autotag]’ win at UFC Fight Night 209 was quick, but he didn’t come out unscathed.

Quinonez (17-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) scored a first-round TKO win over Khalid Taha this past Saturday at Accor Arena. It was a near-flawless performance from the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate, whose main takeaway from the fight was simple.

“An obvious one is to close my fist better, because I broke it,” Quinonez told reporters through an interpreter. “After that I need to see the fight and of course I will learn and make adjustments.”

He continued, “I feel very complete, because it was my goal. I knew when I first stepped in the cage, I’m going to start being a problem in the division.”

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Quinonez took the fight on less than two weeks’ notice after Tala’s original opponent, Taylor Lapilus, had to withdraw. The Mexican fighter was last to weigh-in but is still open to taking short-notice fights in the future.

“Me personally, I can fight short notice or on three months’ notice,” Quinonez said. “But that decision I make with my team and to make a smart one, but I can fight both.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Fares Ziam happy with UFC Paris win, ‘but I need more to finish the fight’

Fares Ziam is happy with his performance at UFC Fight Night 209 but disappointed he didn’t get the finish.

PARIS – [autotag]Fares Ziam[/autotag] is happy with his performance at UFC Fight Night 209 but disappointed he didn’t get the finish.

The French-Algerian fighter almost got the stoppage when he rocked Michal Figlak with a spinning back elbow in Round 2 this past Saturday at Accor Arena, but Figlak survived. Nonetheless, it was a well rounded effort from Ziam (13-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC), who showed off his striking and grappling in a unanimous decision win in front of his home fans.

“It’s like a dream,” Ziam told reporters, including MMA Junkie at the post-fight news conference. “Because for me, fight in France, first time with UFC, first time in MMA for me in France, super happy.”

He continued, “He’s a tough guy, he’s a tough opponent. I wish to finish him in the second round with the spinning elbow, but he’s tough. And after the second round, no energy. I fight only with my heart.”

“I feel good, because I won tonight, but I need more to finish the fight.”

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Ziam was successful in his first fight of a new four-fight UFC deal. He’s ready for a quick turnaround for UFC 280 on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi, and is even ready to jump in as a short-notice replacement if any fight falls through.

“Next I want Abu Dhabi, but the card was full,” Ziam said. “In Abu Dhabi, I have two fights: one loss and one win, but let’s go Abu Dhabi. I have no injury, I’m fresh.”

He continued, “Let’s go, 100 percent. I’m a fighter, I need fight, I need money, let’s go.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Roman Kopylov credits corner for must-win knockout at UFC Fight Night 209

“I took those corrections and with their corrections and their guidance, I was able to find the victory.”

PARIS – With his back against the wall, [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag] delivered at UFC Fight Night 209.

Kopylov (9-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) notched his first octagon win when he knocked out Alessio Di Chirico this past Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris. It was a must-win situation for the Russian, who after an undefeated start to his professional MMA career, found himself 0-2 in the UFC heading into his fight against Di Chirico.

“I’m very happy to win,” Kopylov told reporters through an interpreter. “The first two fights were not lucky in my favor, so I’m very happy to get to the winning column, and hopefully we’ll bring great fights and continue to win.”

He continued, “Yes, of course it was very important. Like I said, the last two were losses, so it was very important for me to win this one. I did everything to get the win, and I knew that no matter what, I had to walk away in the winning column.”

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Kopylov got off to a good start, but Di Chirico was able to make adjustments in Round 2. But after taking some advice from his corner, Kopylov was able to turn things back around and get the emphatic finish just over a minute into the final round.

“The first round was going in my favor, and I thought I was doing a good job,” Kopylov said. “The second round kind of went sideways a little bit. I’m not sure what was happening, but it didn’t go my way. And, of course, my corner saw what was happening, they gave me some corrections, I took those corrections, and with their corrections and their guidance, I was able to find the victory.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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Israel Adesanya reacts to Robert Whittaker beating ‘jittery and spazzed out’ Marvin Vettori at UFC Paris

Israel Adesanya wasn’t too surprised with Robert Whittaker’s win over Marvin Vettori at UFC Fight Night 209.

UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] wasn’t too surprised with [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]’s win over [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag].

Whittaker (24-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) put on a fantastic performance against former title challenger Vettori (18-5-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) in this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 209 co-main event at Accor Arena in Paris.

Adesanya, who holds two wins each over Whittaker and Vettori, predicted that Whittaker would win. Although he credited Whittaker for “flowing” throughout the fight, Adesanya didn’t echo the same sentiment as the majority of fighters who were in awe of “The Reaper.”

“Rob went in there and then did his f*cking two fake kick him in the head, clipped him and then he banked on that, and then he kept on hitting him with it,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “And Vettori showed a lot of shoulder and f*cking jittery and spazzed out, so yeah, that’s what the fight was.”

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On the contrary, Adesanya thoroughly enjoyed the night’s headliner between Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa, and praised Tuivasa for his toughness before he was ultimately finished in Round 3.

“Main event was dope,” Adesanya said. “Tai had his moment. He dinked him, almost sank him. Even Ciryl reckons he got knocked out, but he came back and did what he did, what he does.”

He continued, “Surprisingly, he was invested in that body early on. Yeah, Tai held on. Tai was like, just one more kamikaze, just like, ‘OK, I’m gonna take this shot, this pain right now, and I’m gonna flush him.'”

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Benoit Saint-Denis says toe ‘split in two almost’ during TKO win at UFC Fight Night 209

Benoit Saint-Denis had to ignore any pain he was feeling from a gruesome injury during his fight at UFC Paris.

PARIS – [autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag] suffered a gruesome toe injury at UFC Fight Night 209.

Saint-Denis (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) continued his perfect finishing rate when he scored a bonus-winning TKO win over Gabriel Miranda this past Saturday at Accor Arena, where his big toe was left surrounded by a puddle of blood. Saint-Denis later explained that it was a pre-existing injury, which happened before his first octagon win against Niklas Stolze in June.

“I could not lift my toe any more, but I wanted to fight,” Saint-Denis told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “I had a hard preparation, so it was one month before the fight with the German guy (Stolze) in Vegas. We did no surgery. It was OK. I just had a lot of times where my toe was going into the ground. It injured me a little bit, so I had to train with shoes.

“Just after the fight with Niklas, I got surgery, but six weeks without any sports, so I had only three weeks to prepare for this fight. It was the best and hardest camp I ever had, because obviously three weeks, the first two weeks you feel like sh*t, because you haven’t trained for a long time. The last week, I was starting to feel great again, but the toe was still a bit open.”

Saint-Denis said during his fight with Miranda that his toe re-opened, but that wasn’t going to stop him from putting on a show in front of his French fans.

“After a couple of kicks, it split in two almost,” Saint-Denis added. “It’s just the fight game. You never have a perfect preparation. There are always small injuries. It’s a part of life for any athlete, so now I will take time to heal it up.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 209.

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