Renato “Moicano” Carneiro could be a dark horse candidate for “Fighter of the Year.” Carneiro bloodied Benoit Saint-Denis in front of thousands of French fans with wins over Drew Dober and Jalyn Turner in the main event of UFC Fight Night 243 at the Accor Arena in Paris on Saturday He defeated him in a beatdown, cementing his status as an elite contender in the lightweight division.
Carneiro (20-5-1) battered Saint-Denis throughout the opening period, destroying his eye and nose with elbows and vicious ground-and-pound. The “God of War” was forced to hide and wait for the bell to ring in order to find peace. The Saint-Denis corner begged him to wake up or he would suffer humiliation in front of his home fans, but there was little he could do to slow the Brazilian down. Ta.
Caneiro kept the leather on Saint-Denis in the second round. Saint-Denis, whose eyes were swollen and blood leaking from his face, sat stunned in a chair while the horns tried to clean him up. Their work was impressive, but it wasn’t enough to convince the cageside doctor not to stop the fight before the third round.
Carneiro’s TKO victory builds on a very impressive 2024 season for the foul-mouthed contender. Carnelio’s post-fight rant was just as captivating as the fight, and he looks like he could crack the top 10 of a solid lightweight division.
Middleweight contenders Brendan Allen and Nasouddin Imavov put their place in the division on the line in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 243, with a chance to move closer to capturing that elusive title. Allen looked relaxed and comfortable in the early going with Paris’ puncher on his back. Allen ignored pleas for the job from Herb Dean and silenced Imavov, stealing the first round.
Imavov prepared for Allen’s wrestling in the second set and got three consecutive takedowns from the Milwaukee native. Imavov’s class rose in the next two rounds as the French prospect snapped Allen’s head back with punches and knees. Allen was determined to get Imavov back to the mat, but abandoned his striking as Imavov soared on the scorecards. In the end, it was a close fight, but Imavov won by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
William Gomis, the pride of Paris, puts his 11th straight win on the line against fellow featherweight JoAnderson Brito. The fight unfolded at a breakneck pace and ultimately came down to the final seconds. Gomis, whose winning streak was on the line, got the better of Brito in the last minute and snatched a split decision victory (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Brito (17-4-1) is on a five-game winning streak, surprising Gomis from the start with his high-energy, twitchy style. While trying to throw Brito down to the mat, Gomis opened up, hurting his knee and hurting his body. Brito closed out the round with an eye-catching right hand and momentum. Brito performed a grapple in the second fight, catching Gomis in an arm triangle stance, but the Frenchman did not phase. Gomis was able to break free and land a few shots on the break to sway the round in his favor.
Gomis (14-2)’s best round came in the third round, where the Paris-born Gomis dug deep and finally began to get the better of the speedy Brazilian. As Brito struggled to find his footing, Gomis let go and threatened him with a guillotine. Gomis finished the fight with more energy and the first two rounds were too close to scoring, so the local favorite did enough to gain the upper hand in a razor-thin fight.
Beyond the Duke of Wellington, France had a new enemy. His name is Brian Battle. The rapidly rising welterweight looked ready to fight throughout the arena after scoring a technical knockout victory over Kevin Giuse in 3 minutes, 47 seconds in the second round.
As his name alludes, Battle (12-1, No. 1 North Carolina State) likes scraps. The Charlotte native’s first fight of 2024 was called due to an accidental poke in the eye, and the time off only added to “The Butcher’s” hunger to extend his two-fight win streak. Battle controlled Cage and attacked him with jabs. Battle tried a single leg for an early takedown, but was hit twice in the face. Battle laughed off his embarrassment, biting down on his mouthpiece and choosing to beat it up instead.
Throughout a hellish second round, Battle and Giuse traded furious punches. But Battle moved forward with more punches while the French-born fighter tried to regain momentum. He overwhelmed Giuse with two, three, four, and even five punch combos until his back hit the fence. He was outnumbered and at Battle’s mercy until Herb Dean stopped him. To boos from the crowd, Battled circled the cage with both middle fingers raised for his newfound friend.
Morgan Charrière exudes French colors and nothing could stop him from rediscovering his groove in front of thousands of passionate compatriots. Charrière bounced back from a split decision loss in his last fight with a second-round knockout over Gabriel Miranda. The featherweight match ended 27 seconds into the second round.
Miranda (17-7) is a nightmare on the ground, with 16 career submissions, but Charriere does his best work on the feet. Both fighters spent the first round drawing the fight into their world. Charriere had little interest in getting into Miranda’s guard, fighting off takedowns whenever possible, but Miranda still led the pace.
Looking to continue his strong start, Miranda put pressure on Charrière early in the second set. The Brazilian fired an overhand shot that missed just a mile out. Charriere went for a bodylock, but Miranda made the save when she twisted in the opposite direction. Charriere makes Miranda pay for not looking away, and drops her with a sledgehammer in his left hand. Miranda collapsed to the floor, forcing referee Mark Goddard to intervene. Charriere (20-10-1) capped off his beautiful knockout by leading the crowd in singing the French national anthem, La Marseillaise.
France’s Fares Giam opened the main card of UFC Paris with the most impressive performance of his young career. After two rounds of well-balanced beatdowns, ‘Smile Killer’ brought joy to Accor Arena with a devastating knockout over Matt Frevola in 2 minutes and 59 seconds in the third round.
Steamrolla (11-5-1) entered the fight looking to bounce back from a first-round knockout loss to Benoît St. Denis, but many problems were found with the lanky Kill Cliff FC prospect. Ta. Xiam’s length tormented Frevola from distance, his clinch work made life difficult at close range, and Xiam’s deft grappling kept the American on the defensive. In order to survive, Frevola hoped to survive the final two minutes, but was put to sleep after eating Flash Knee during a break. As the crowd roared for his countryman, Frevola felt a chill. With this victory, Giam improved his record to 16-4 and recorded his fourth consecutive win in the lightweight division.
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