Former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane picked his strikes well and showed improved takedown defence in an assertive R2 TKO win over Serghei Spivac, a year after successfully headlining a similarly raucous Accor Arena. What about Rose Namajunas’ flyweight debut, or the resurgence of Volkan Oezdemir? Read on, for five thoughts from Saturday’s Fight Night card.
#1 Gane gets it done, as Spivac firmly second best
R2, 3:44 – Ciryl Gane [2] bt. Serghei Spivac [7] via TKO (punches)
Pitted against a man with the division’s highest takedown accuracy (65.9%), Ciryl Gane knew he couldn’t afford any slip-ups here – especially at home.
Judging solely on their contrasting body language during walkouts before entering the Octagon, a long night was in store for Serghei Spivac.
15,610 packed into the arena booing you and making a hostile environment even more tempestuous, who could blame the Moldovan for feeling tension?
Alas, things were about to get much worse as the visual of a free-flowing, 250-pound Ciryl bouncing in-front of him and switching stances quickly spelled danger.
Peppered with low leg kicks, the Frenchman didn’t want to engage in takedowns and his melodramatic reactions to Spivac’s shot attempts spoke volumes.
Serghei landed a few clean left hooks, but not much else of note throughout as Gane sprawled brilliantly in stuffing Spivac’s takedown threat. He responded by digging shots to the body, threatening with a head kick and more was to come in round two.
Ciryl’s corner urged action and aggression from their charge, eager for him to take advantage of the openings – Spivac was largely a stationary target – so he took their advice, upping the intensity in what proved the night’s final stanza.
Spivac needed to cut off the cage better and corner Gane into a position where he could wrestle, but that would equally mean being more reckless and less predictable as his entries were largely telegraphed from distance.
Gane sensed that, and continued working to the body while flicking out his piercing jab as the kicks continued to land.
Spivac missed on an explosive charge towards the cage, before the home hero capitalised by carving open an opponent who couldn’t compete with him in their stand-up exchanges, especially with such punishing shot selection.
A clubbing right, more body punches and combinations connected as referee Marc Goddard had soon seen enough. #4 ranked contender Tom Aspinall was watching cageside and wants to face him next, but this showing was a welcome sight.
#2 Manon Fiorot vs. Erin Blanchfield next, right?
30-27, 29-28, 29-28: Manon Fiorot [3] bt. Rose Namajunas [2, strawweight]
- Unanimous decision victory sees Frenchwoman tie Erin Blanchfield for the division’s longest active win streak (6), after 24-year-old’s similarly gritty win over former title challenger Taila Santos last month
- “Absolutely, I deserve a title shot next,” 33-year-old during her post-fight speech as Grasso-Shevchenko 2 awaits on Sept. 16. Will she get it though?
It wasn’t a five-round main event, but then again didn’t need to be: flyweight contender Manon Fiorot added a former women’s strawweight champion to her ever-growing resume, showing her slick boxing and takedown defence as she outworked a compromised Rose Namajunas in Saturday’s co-main over 15 minutes.
After catching her with a right hook early on, stuffing a takedown attempt and countering well at mid-range in the first few minutes, the commentary booth picked up on Namajunas’ inability to throw her own right-hand punches.
It appeared she sustained a right thumb injury and couldn’t close her hand to make a fist, so adjusted by boxing from the southpaw stance and working on the outside against a karate-style fighter who was happy keeping things at range.
“You don’t need your finger,” Namajunas’ coach-and-partner Pat Barry bellowed in-between rounds, but she was clearly thinking about it and how that wrinkle impacted the whole gameplan so soon into a competitive clash.
Fiorot forced her to the cage, watched her wince after landing a knee to the body, then displayed physicality and quick reactions well as she avoided being taken down after watching a sidekick being countered, before an accidental head clash gave the Frenchwoman a deep cut with blood spraying down the side of her head.
Fiorot was told to box and clinch, and needed more takedown defence at the start of R3 as Namajunas tried to push the pace.
Head kicks and a furious combination in the final 90 seconds seemed sufficient, as she ultimately proved a step too far on Thug Rose‘ 125lb debut.
#3 Rose Namajunas has a decision to make
As explained previously, Namajunas was physically compromised – having sustained a suspected broken hand early in round one – and will be feeling sour about a competitive defeat given the timing coming off a 16-month layoff.
After losing strawweight gold in an all-timer for all the wrong reasons against Carla Esparza last May, this wasn’t the memorable Octagon return many had hoped for.
It’s the latest setback in a career packed with ups-and-downs for Thug Rose, who is still only 31 but her inactivity and lack of size up a weight division means a big decision awaits her going forward. Stick or twist?
Sure, she holds two wins over reigning 115lb champion Zhang Weili. One was a flash KO, the other was a disputed-but-gripping contest over 25 minutes, yet there’s no appetite to see a trilogy right now. Otherwise they would’ve already done so.
This was the second time since 2017 – a UD3 win over Jessica Andrade – that she fought over three rounds rather than the main event (or championship) five, and if she stays at 125lbs, there’s multiple possibilities to navigate before a title shot.
Out for the rest of this year and likely first quarter 2024, the division’s landscape could change plenty in that time. This defeat isn’t the worst thing in the world, provided she doesn’t continue her habit of disappearing into the wilderness too long.
#4 Benoit Saint-Denis another lightweight to look out for
If there’s one surefire way to catapult yourself into relevancy in the promotion, it’s building a win streak while establishing yourself as a finisher in the same vein.
In a stacked division at 155lbs, the likes of Renato Moicano [13] and Matt Frevola [14] have done just that as entertaining fighters rarely in a boring battle.
Does that mantra make them less likely to ever embark on a title tilt at the higher echelons, perhaps, but doesn’t make their high-quality credentials any less warranted in a weight class packed with sharks ready to seize their own opportunity.
That’s where Benoit Saint-Denis now finds himself rising towards. The 27-year-old is now riding a four-fight win streak and just handled a savvy operator in Thiago Moises, who went four rounds with current champion Islam Makhachev two years ago.
Okay, a pair of early groin shots didn’t exactly help the Brazilian settle into rhythm in enemy territory but at 28 and after two recent submission wins, he certainly wasn’t a diminished version of his best self. One might argue he’s not even in his prime yet.
Instead, he found himself overwhelmed in their stand-up exchanges and swarmed on the ground against a bullish southpaw that quickly proved no match for him.
Talk of a matchup against the Rafael Fiziev vs. Mateusz Gamrot loser might be a tad premature – both have beaten tougher opponents – but he’s on the right track.
#5 Volkan Oezdemir will hope for a second coming at 205lbs
The light-heavyweight division remains in flux, especially now that Jamahal Hill became the second champion in less than a full calendar year to vacate the 205lb strap due to serious injury after rupturing his Achilles playing basketball in July.
Magomed Ankalaev should probably be the reigning titlist and have already reeled off a defence in 2023, but that’s a debate for another time.
There are naturally question marks over how former champion Jiri Prochazka will fare on his comeback from a career-threatening shoulder injury, that has kept him sidelined for a year, while Alex Pereira moving up from middleweight speaks volumes for the opportunities available at the top of a weight class without a clear hierarchy.
The fact perennial contender Nikita Krylov went 2-4 in a six-fight span between September 2018 and March last year, yet now sits at #6 in the top-15 rankings just emphasises how quickly things can change.
One of those recent victories came against yours truly, Volkan Oezdemir, who will be undoubtedly hoping his first UFC submission win (2nd in his career) doesn’t prove another false dawn as he can’t afford many more setbacks at this level.
Aptly nicknamed No Time, the Swiss former title challenger turns 34 in two weeks and has been training with Allstars since last year – sparring #4 ranked welterweight Khamzat Chimaev among others – looking to level up around new company.
Originally slated to fight Azamat Murzakanov [12] here, it’ll be interesting to see whether they rebook it again soon. After a R1 finish against a highly-rated newcomer, nearly a full year on from his last appearance, why not strike while the iron is hot?
Other results
Main card
Featherweight: William Gomis bt. Yanis Ghemmouri via R3 TKO (body kick)
Featherweight: Morgan Charriere bt. Manolo Zecchini via R1 KO (body kick, punches)
Prelims
Bantamweight: Taylor Lapilus bt. Caolan Loughran via UD (29-28 x 3)
Welterweight: Ange Loosa bt. Rhys McKee (30-27, 29-28 x 2)
Women’s Bantamweight: Nora Cornolle bt. Joselyne Edwards (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Bantamweight: Farid Basharat bt. Kleydson Rodrigues via R1 submission (arm-triangle choke)
Catchweight (140lbs): Jacqueline Cavalcanti bt. Zarah Fairn dos Santos via UD (30-27 x 3)
Picture source: Getty Images, stats via UFC
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