After the five French who participated in the first UFC Paris last year, nine Tricolores will enter the cage at the Accor Hotel Arena this Saturday evening. Ciryl Gane, Benoît Saint-Denis and William Gomis will do the double, while the other six will discover the joys of fighting in front of the French supporters. White-hot during the weigh-in on Friday afternoon, the 15,000 fans are ready to carry the Blues to victory. Here are the nine representatives.
Ciryl Gane, double main-event
As in 2022, the MMA Factory heavyweight will enter the cage at the Accor Hotel Arena last. Beaten in just two minutes during his title fight against Jon Jones last March, the Frenchman has revenge to take this Saturday. He will still have a hard time facing Sergey Spivak, a specialist in wrestling and ground combat, areas that cost Ciryl Gane dearly during his two fights for the belt. Nevertheless, he seems to have worked a lot on these aspects after several months of hard training, as he may never have known them.
Manon Fiorot, facing a legend
The Niçoise wants to be the first tricolor to become UFC champion. After defeating the majority of fighters in her category, the flyweights (under 57 kg), Manon Fiorot tackles a legend, Rose Namajunas, former champion of the strawweights. New in the category, the American of Lithuanian origin is no less dangerous. “Thug Rose” notably beat Zhang Weili twice, who now outrageously dominates his category. A real test for the Frenchwoman, but a victory could offer her a fight for the title at the start of 2024.
Benoît Saint-Denis, towards the top 15
The former special forces soldier is the most successful Frenchman in recent months. Arrived at the UFC in October 2021, BSD has just chained three victories, including an impressive against Ismaël Bonfim just two months ago, and got closer to the top 15 of the lightweights. This Saturday, he faces again a fighter higher ranked than him, Thiago Moises. A jiu-jitsu specialist, the Brazilian will cause problems for “God of War”. But this one is a warrior, and he will again offer a very committed fight to shake Bercy.
William Gomis, for a 3 out of 3
Like Ciryl Gane and Benoît Saint-Denis, William Gomis was already present at UFC Paris last year. And like his compatriots, he had imposed himself, despite a big fright in the last moments with a strangulation from which he had finally managed to extricate himself. After a second victory in April, again unconvincing, the protege of the MMA Factory must achieve the hat-trick, but also be more offensive. Initially scheduled against Lucas Almeida, the “Jaguar” will finally participate in the first Franco-French fight in UFC history against Yanis Ghemmouri.
Yanis Ghemmouri, one of the rookies
Yanis Ghemmouri’s week has been eventful. While he was scheduled to face Cage Warriors champion Caolan Loughran at bantamweight (under 61kg), he was eventually rescheduled to face William Gomis in the top category (under 65kg). Originally from Lyon, where he trains with his friend and UFC fighter Farès Ziam, “The Desert Warrior” has only known defeat once, in the fourth fight of his career in 2015. Since then, his eight victories in eight fights opened the doors to the biggest league in the world.
Morgan Charrière, the culmination of a dream
The UFC, Morgan Charrière dreamed of it for many years. He had also failed on the verge of the grail in 2021, where a victory against Jordan Vucenic at the Cage Warriors would have allowed him to obtain a contract. Beaten, he lost again a few months later, moving a little further from his goal. The year 2022 has been the occasion for a big challenge, before a return to the fore in 2023, with three convincing victories in nine months. This time, so it’s the right one, he will put on the gloves stamped “UFC”, and face another newcomer, the Italian Manolo Zecchini.
Taylor Lapilus, the ghost
After seven years of waiting, the resident of the US Metro will go back to a UFC cage. At the time, when he was only 24, the Frenchman had completed his first contract with three wins and one loss, which was not enough to convince Dana White to offer him a second contract. He finally had to wait until 2022 to return to the league, but an injury prevented him from taking part in the first UFC Paris. The RMC Sport commentator is now back, facing Caolan Loughran, the fighter originally scheduled to face Yanis Ghemmouri.
Nora Cornolle, to confirm in the big league
Arriving in MMA late, after a rich career in Thai boxing, the Francilienne only needed six fights to find a place in the UFC. After a defeat in 2021, Nora Cornolle completely abandoned muay-thai to focus solely on MMA, brilliantly. Five victories in less than a year later, she will start against Joselyne Edwards, an experienced fighter, under contract with the UFC for three years. A first big test for the Frenchwoman, who wants to win her fight before the limit, as she did during her five successes.
Zarah Fairn, a revenge to take
She was the first French fighter to sign a contract with the UFC, but she did not have the expected success. She first lost twice in the first round, before losing a third time in the decision last January. She will now play the last fight of her contract, and a victory is essential if she wants to keep her place. She will be the first to enter the cage at the Accor Arena, facing the Portuguese Jacqueline Cavalcanti, new to the organization.
