‘Corrupt’ French officials storm UFC Paris weigh ins, detain ‘dehydrated’ foreigners ‘for hours’ over ‘random’ drug tests

UFC Paris headliner Renato Moicano, along with middleweight co-headliner Brendan Allen, were expecting to return to their hotel rooms to recover from their respective weight cuts after hitting the scale for the early-morning weigh ins on Friday.

Instead, they were detained “for hours.”

“France has the most corrupt way of dealing with fighters, ever, in the whole world,” Allen told his Instagram followers. “They’re gonna tell me I have to give blood. First they said urine — right off the scale. Dehydrated … waited three hours, finally have to pee, then they tell me I have to give blood on top of that.”

Today’s incident is reminiscent of this weigh ins ambush from summer 2022.

“Just me and Moicano had to do this,” Allen continued. “The two Frenchman didn’t get to have anything. They just get to go to their room [to] sleep, eat, chill, do everything they wanna do, while three-and-a-half hours later … I was downstairs at 8:30, made weight last night, easy. F—k this place, this place is a sh*thole.”

Today’s “random” event was on top of the promotion’s existing drug-testing protocols.

The 28 year-old Allen is expected to battle hometown hero Nassourdine Imavov for a spot in the crowded 185-pound title chase. Similarly, Moicano takes center stage against Parisian “God of War” Benoit Saint Denis in the five-round lightweight main event.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Paris fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups which are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Paris news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Moicano vs. Saint Denis” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.