Surging Brazilian lightweight contender Renato Moicano made another statement as he claimed a second-round doctor-stoppage victory over France’s Benoit Saint Denis in the main event of UFC Paris.
Moicano, who was booed into the cage before his bout with the French star, produced a dominant first-round performance as he quickly took Saint Denis to the mat, then dominated him for the remainder of the round.
That included a couple of sustained submission attempts, but it was Moicano’s ground and pound that proved to be decisive, as the Brazilian’s slicing elbows from top position left Saint Denis bloodied and battered by the end of the opening round.
And, despite a much more competitive round from Saint Denis, by the end of Round 2 the Frenchman was even more busted up, and his right eye was completely shut.
It prompted referee Marc Goddard to call the cageside doctor into the Octagon to assess Saint Denis and, after the doctor diligently checked his vision, Saint Denis failed to demonstrate that he had vision out of his right eye and the fight was waved off.
In the co-main event, French middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov outworked Brendan Allen to claim a unanimous decision, while another Frenchmen, William Gomis edged a split-decision verdict over Brazilian featherweight Joanderson Brito.
The main card kicked off with three finishes. France’s Fares Ziam delivered a career-best performance to knock out Matt Frevola in their lightweight main card opener, then French featherweight star Morgan Charriere knocked out Gabriel Miranda with a huge left hand just 27 seconds into the second round of their 145-pound matchup.
The third successive stoppage on the main card saw American Bryan Battle claim a second-round TKO of France’s Kevin Jousset.
UFC Paris: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Renato Moicano def. Benoit Saint Denis via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 2, 5:00
- Nassourdine Imavov def. Brendan Allen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- William Gomis def. Joanderson Brito via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Bryan Battle def. Kevin Jousset via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:47
- Morgan Charriere def. Gabriel Miranda via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:27
- Fares Ziam def. Matt Frevola via knockout (knee) – Round 3, 2:59
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Ion Cutelaba def. Ivan Erslan via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Oumar Sy def. Da Woon Jung via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ludovit Klein def. Roosevelt Roberts via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Taylor Lapilus def. Vince Morales via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ailin Perez def. Darya Zheleznyakova via submission (arm triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:52
- Daniel Barez def. Victor Altamirano via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti def. Nora Cornolle via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Chris Duncan def. Bolaji Oki via technical submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:34
