UFC Paris: Nassourdine Imavov outpoints Caio Borralho to press title claims

French middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov extended his win streak to five as he defeated fellow contender Caio Borralho and ensured he stayed at the front of the queue for a shot at the undisputed 185-pound title.

Imavov largely outclassed Borralho in a fight that was spent almost entirely in the stand-up realm, as the Frenchman’s sharper, faster strikes consistently beat Borralho to the punch as he showed his class through the five-round main event at Accor Arena.

Borralho had a few fleeting moments of success as he landed some power shots of his own, but largely it was Imavov who controlled the action as he earned scores of 50-45, 49-46, 49-46 to take his record to 17-4.

After his victory, Imavov said that he should be next for a shot at the middleweight title currently held by Khamzat Chimaev. Borralho, meanwhile, paid tribute to Imavov and the French fans before saying that he needs to rediscover the spark he felt was missing in his performance.

Saint Denis dominates Ruffy en route to submission finish

French lightweight Benoit Saint Denis announced his return to form with a hugely impressive second-round submission finish of surging Brazilian prospect Mauricio Ruffy.

Brazil’s Ruffy, a product of the famed “Fighting Nerds” gym in Sao Paulo, was looking to gatecrash the lightweight elite with a big win over the Frenchman. But Saint Denis had other ideas, and “The God of War” employed a smart gameplan to exert controlled pressure on the Brazilian as he denied “One Shot” the room to let off his flashy strikes.

Instead, Saint Denis closed the distance, made Ruffy work in the clinch, and punished him from close range. And, as the bout moved into the second round, Saint Denis was in control.

Benoit Saint Denis and Mauricio Ruffy — Per Haljestam/Imagn Images

Eventually, he took Ruffy to the mat, moved into position and locked up a rear-naked choke that eventually broke the Brazilian’s spirit as he forced the tap at the two-minute, 56 second mark.

It gave Saint Denis a huge victory as he put things right after his TKO loss to Renato Moicano the last time he fought on home soil. It also means he’s on a two-fight win streak, with his victory over Ruffy joining his second-round arm-triangle choke finish of Kyle Prepolec at UFC 315 in May.

Bukauskas hits buzzer-beater KO as Craig announces retirement

There was a passing of the torch in the light heavyweight division as UK-based Lithuanian Modestas Bukauskas claimed a huge first-round knockout victory over Scottish veteran Paul Craig.

The fight, which looked like a straightforward striker-versus-grappler matchup on paper, was spent largely in the stand-up, as Craig looked to utilise his improved striking against noted striker Bukauskas.

Eventually Craig did manage to get the fight to the mat, but rather than use his submission skills to threaten Bukauskas, it was “The Baltic Gladiator” who unleashed his striking arsenal from top position, and one huge elbow knocked out Craig as the horn sounded to end the round.

Bukauskas got up and went to return to his corner, while referee Marc Goddard assessed Craig to see if he was fit to continue. It took one look to see that he clearly wasn’t, and the official waved off the fight.

It gave Bukauskas another important victory as he continued his impressive form. Since returning to the UFC, he has won six of his seven fights in the Octagon.

For Craig, meanwhile, it would be his last appearance inside the Octagon, as the big Scotsman laid down his gloves and was greeted by a standing ovation from the knowledgeable French crowd, who showed their appreciation for Craig’s career.

“In this sport, the young eat the old… and I’m old! Thanks for the memories,” he said.

Jones weathers early storm, stops Oki

Former two-division Cage Warriors champion Mason Jones came through a tough start to his lightweight bout with Bolaji Oki before eventually finishing his man in the second round to claim his sixth win in a row.

Appearing in the second fight of his second UFC stint, Jones was hurt early as Oki came out swinging for the fences in the early exchanges. But, despite being dropped twice in a crazy first 90 seconds, Jones rallied and eventually turned the tables on his Belgian rival.

Jones managed to weather the storm and get back to his feet. Then, rather than look to survive the round, he fought fire with fire as he came storming back into the fight.

His shots hurt, and dropped Oki, and he came close to locking up a Kimura, than a straight armlock, as he finished the round well on top.

Then, in the second round, he piled on the pressure again as he eventually landed a big takedown and punished Oki with a barrage of elbows to force the stoppage and claim back-to-back wins in the UFC in 2025.

French star Sola claims debut finish

French debutant Axel Sola stepped up a weight class for his UFC debut in Paris, and produced a superb performance to stop Rhys McKee in the third round.

Sola got to work early as he quickly established his striking range. But McKee bit down on his mouthpiece and came battling back into the fight as he pushed the Frenchman onto the back foot.

But as the fight went on, and with Sola edging the exchanges, a perfectly-placed body shot took the wind out of McKee, who dropped to his knees.

Sola followed up with strikes to force referee Herb Dean to wave off the fight before McKee could get back to his feet.

The win improved Sola’s undefeated record to 11 wins, one draw.

Gomis bounces back to outpoint Ruchala

In the opening main card bout of the night, French featherweight William Gomis improved his record to 15-3 with a unanimous decision victory over Polish debutant Robert Ruchala.

Gomis held the striking advantage throughout the three-round matchup, and was only put on the back foot when he allowed the former KSW champion to drag him into more of a brawl, and a nasty eye-poke from the Frenchman forced the Pole to take an injury timeout, though Gomis was not penalised for the foul.

After the pair battled to the scorecards, Gomis took the unanimous decision victory, with scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 as he rebounded from defeat to Hyder Amil in March with a priceless win on home soil.

Preliminary card recap

The preliminary card delivered a feast of finishes, with all seven bouts producing finishes, with five of them ending in the first round.

In the featured prelim, French light heavyweight Oumar Sy bounced back from his first career loss with a first-round TKO finish of Brendson Ribeiro, while Croatian heavyweight and former PFL champion Ante Delia made a big impact on his UFC debut as he stopped perennial heavyweight contender Marcin Tybura in the first round.

Also earning a first-round victory was Brazilian lightweight Kaue Fernandes, who chopped down short-notice opponent Harry Hardwick. The Cage Warriors featherweight champion stepped up a weight class to make his UFC debut on short notice, but things didn’t go his way as he was hobbled early with leg kicks, then finished later in the round after taking one kick too many.

England’s Sam Patterson impressed with a first-round stoppage of Trey Waters in the first round, while Russia’s Rinat Fakhretdinov needed only one round to finish Swedish marauder Andreas Gustafsson.

Poland’s Robert Bryczek stopped American veteran Brad Tavares in the third round, while in the opening preliminary card bout of the night, Sam Hughes submitted Shauna Bannon in Round 2.

UFC Paris: Official results

MAIN CARD

Nassourdine Imavov def. Caio Borralho via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
Benoit Saint Denis def. Mauricio Ruffy via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:56
Modestas Bukauskas def. Paul Craig via knockout (elbow) – Round 1, 5:00
Mason Jones def. Bolaji Oki via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 3:18
Axel Sola def. Rhys McKee via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:02
William Gomis def. Robert Ruchala via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD