UFC Paris start time, full fight card details | Moicano vs. Saint Denis

After a week off to recover from the amazing event that was UFC 306 live from inside The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is touching down in Paris, France later TODAY (Sat., Sept. 28, 2024) to stage a special “Fight Night” event inside Accor Arena on ESPN+. Headlining the event will be a pivotal Lightweight bout between Renato Moicano (No. 11) and Benoit Saint Denis (No. 12).

What’s Hot:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Winner of three straight, Renato Moicano is out to secure his first-ever four-fight win streak under the UFC banner to punch his ticket into the Top 10 and get closer to the ever-elusive world title shot. Over the last few years, the Brazilian bomber has really shown his personality, too, which is big if you want the mighty UFC PR machine to show you some love. When you couple that with wins, it’s a sure-fire recipe for a marketable fighter the company can get behind. With consecutive wins over Brad Riddell, Drew Dober and Jalin Turner, his next opponent is his toughest in recent memory in Benoit Saint Denis.

UFC Fight Night: Moicano v Saint Denis Ceremonial Weigh-in

“God of War” was riding high heading into his pivotal bout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 299. After all, he had won five in a row, all finishes, and another victory would have likely punched his ticket to a Top 10 spot and possibly into title consideration. But “The Diamond” proved to be too much for the fighting Frenchman, ultimately finishing him in the second round via knockout (see it again here), Hungry to get back into the win column, Saint Denis will come out aggressive, which is right up Moicano’s alley. If it hits the ground, that is where the action will get very interesting because both men are submission experts, with 10 of Moicano’s 19 wins coming by way of submission and nine of Saint Denis’ 13 victories came in that manner. They could very well cancel each other out in that department, so this fight will either see someone get knocked out or go the full 25 minutes. Whatever the case, we should be in for a treat.

What’s Not:

In what should be a fireworks-filled Featherweight bout, Joanderson Brito and William Gomis will throw down in main card action. The two men were involved in an interesting staredown at weigh ins, with Brito shaking Gomis’ hand before yanking it down hard in an awkward encounter. It’s a pretty dirty move, if you ask me, because there was truly no need for that if you were being cordial. To top it off, a sudden jerk like that could listlessly cause a shoulder sprain. That is why It’s on my “What’s Not” list, because it was uncalled for from Brito. Nevertheless, they will get to settle whatever beef they have soon enough.

Original Card vs. Actual Card:

A Bantamweight bout between Taylor Lapilus and Felipe Lima was scheduled for this event. before Lima bout out of the fight for unknown reasons and ultimately replaced by Vince Morales, who is coming into the short-notice fight on a five-fight win streak on the regional circuit. In his first run with the promotion back from 2018 to 2022, Morales racked up a subpar 3-5 record, which ultimately lead to his release. Now, “Vandetta” has a second chance to make things right for himself and impress the UFC higher ups. As for Lapilus, he is 2-1 so far in his young UFC career and is coming off a win over longtime veteran, Cody Stamann.

Injuries:

Former women’s Featherweight champion, Germaine de Randamie, was forced out of her fight against Nora Cornolle with multiple injures (broken finger and fractured foot). As a result, former Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) women’s bantamweight champion, Jacqueline Cavalcanti, steps in to fill the void. A Featherweight bout between Morgan Charriere and A.J. Cunningham was scheduled for this event before Cunningham was forced to withdraw from the fight with an undisclosed injury and replaced by Gabriel Miranda.

New Blood:

Ivan Erslan is the lone newcomer on this card going up against Ion Cutelaba. Erslan is coming out of the KSW organization, and he was lighting it up while he was there because his last nine wins came by way of stoppage. He has a stiff test in his UFC debut because Cutelaba is as experienced as they come with 16 fights inside the Octagon under his belt. That said, “The Hulk” has seen better days because he is just 1-4 in his last five fights.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

Gabriel Miranda, who will be making his long-awaited return to action after a year away from action and was last seen defeating Shane Young via submission in Sept. 2023, will face off against Morgan Charriere. After storming out of the gates with a win over Manolo Zecchini in his UFC debut, “The Last Pirate” went on to lose to Jose Mariscal via split-decision in his sophomore effort.

In women’s Bantamweight action, Jacqueline Cavalcanti, who is currently on a five-fight win streak including earning back-to-back wins in her first two UFC outings, will face Nora Cornolle, who has also won her first two fights with the promotion. That run ended up pushing her win streak to eight straight overall, seven via stoppage.

In men’s Flyweight action, Daniel Barez and Victor Altamirano will face off in a battle of two men who desperately need wins. Altamirano is currently on a two-fight skid, while Barez came up short in his UFC debut after getting choked out by Jafel Filho in the very first round (see it again here). Going down 0-2 in your first two UFC fights is not ideal, so if he doesn’t want his UFC career to be over before it truly begins, he needs a good winning performance.

A shaky Ailin Perez missed the 136-pound limit for her women’s Bantmamweight fight against Darya Zheleznyakova by half a pound, and it will cost her 20-percent of her purse as a result. Perez has won three straight fights, so even if she wins her fourth straight the scale fail won’t help her cause. Nevertheless, she is out to secure another win against “Iron Lady,” who made good on her UFC debut by defeating Montserrat Rendon via unanimous decision earlier this year.

Kicking things off will be a 155-pound affair between two young rising contenders in Bolaji Oki and Chris Duncan, who is trying to get back on the winner’s podium after his four-fight win sreak was snapped my Manuel Torres earlier this year. As for Oki, he is on a nine-fight win streak and won his Octagon debut by defeating Timothy Cuamba via split-decision earlier this year.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Da Woon Jung started off his UFC career at 4-0-1, but has since taken a turn for the worse. Indeed, “Sseda” has lost his last three fights, getting stopped in two of those contests courtesy of Carlos Ulberg and Dustin Jacoby. Now, Jung is in a must-win situation when he takes on the red-hot Oumar Sy, who is undefeated at 10-0. It’s an odd matchup to say the least, but Jung has a huge opportunity here to make things right for himself.

Interest Level: 5.5/10

This card has a total of 14 fights on it. In the co-man event, Brendan Allen and Nassourdine Imavov will tango in a pivotal Middleweight scrap. Imavov is currently ranked No. 4 in the division due in large part to his controversial knockout win over former title contender Jared Cannonier (which you can see here). He will look to push his win streak to three straight in order to get his name into the championship conversation against a man who has been hot for the last three years, winning seven straight. With a win, “All In” breaks into the Top 5 and gets one step closer to a shot at a title, and perhaps a regulated fight against Marvin Vettori instead of taking it to the streets.

In Welterweight action, Bryan Battle is out to pick up a win after his last fight against Ange Loosa was ruled a no-contest (NC) as a result of an inadvertent eye poke. Prior to that, Battle had won three straight, bringing his UFC record to 5-1-1. Another win or two and Battle could find himself in the Top 15. Standing in his way, however, is Kevin Jousset, who comes into the fight on a five-fight win streak, which includes back-to-back wins under the UFC umbrella.

Kicking things off on the main card will be a Lightweight scrap between Fares Ziam and Matt Frevola. Ziam is coming in on a three-fight win streak, defeating Michal Figlak, Jai Herbert and Claudio Puelles. His opponent, meanwhile, is coming off a head-kick knockout defeat at the hands of event headliner, Benoit Saint-Denis (see it again here). That loss stopped Frevola’s ascension as he was riding an impressive three-fight winning streak prior to running into the Frenchman.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Paris Fight Card:

UFC Paris Main Event On ESPN+:
155 lbs.: Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint Denis
UFC Paris Main Card On ESPN+ (3 p.m. ET):
185 lbs.: Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen
145 lbs.: William Gomis vs. Joanderson Brito
170 lbs.: Kevin Jousset vs. Bryan Battle
145 lbs.: Morgan Charriere vs. Gabriel Miranda
155 lbs.: Fares Ziam vs. Matt Frevola
UFC Paris Prelims Card On ESPN+ (12 p.m. ET):
205 lbs.: Ion Cutelaba vs. Ivan Erslan
205 lbs.: Oumar Sy vs. Da Woon Jung
155 lbs.: Ľudovít Klein vs. Roosevelt Roberts
135 lbs.: Darya Zheleznyakova vs. Ailín Perez
135 lbs.: Taylor Lapilus vs. Vince Morales
125 lbs.: Daniel Barez vs. Victor Altamirano
135 lbs.: Nora Cornolle vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
155 lbs.: Bolaji Oki vs. Chris Duncan
*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

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.

UFC Paris start time, full fight card details | Moicano vs. Saint Denis