What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 243 at Accor Arena in Paris? Here are a few post-fight musings …
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Ailin Perez's fight week: Fair or foul?
Ailin Perez continued to make herself a magnet for attention this week. First, she missed weight by .5 pounds on Friday in what looked like a frightening scene where she was shaking while being assisted off the scale by UFC staff.
Then, as Perez (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) was making her way to the octagon for her matchup with Darya Zheleznyakova, UFC commentator Michael Bisping revealed her coach, Asim Zaidi of The Goat Shed, texted him earlier in the day and said the entire concerning scene at weigh-ins was staged. Believe that if you will (I certainly don’t), but sure. Hopefully so, cause it’s never good to see an athlete in that condition, but if she wasn’t so bad, why not effort to lose that weight and not forfeit a portion of your purse?
Anyway, Perez looked hydrated and healthy when she got in the cage, then proceeded to largely steamroll an overmatched Zheleznyakova on the mat en route to a first-round submission. The Brazilian then twerked right in her opponent’s defeated face in a viral moment.
I saw reactions split over Perez’s actions from criticizing her lack of professionalism and a label as a bad representation of MMA. There was also praise for the level to which she embraces her entire approach to the sport.
Who would I be to say what’s right or wrong for Perez? It’s certainly her own brand of entertainment, but if I was Zheleznyakova, the post-fight scene would leave me quite bothered. But on the other hand, Zheleznyakova can only blame herself for being left in the position for it to happen.
Fares Ziam's potential at lightweight
Fares Ziam has slowly but surely put together a solid octagon resume that is now getting more attention after a dominant performance against Matt Frevola that ended in a Knockout of the Year contender.
Ziam (16-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) threatened Frevola, who has flirted with a top 15 ranking in the UFC lightweight division, with striking and submission attempts for essentially the entire fight. It seemed like his run of only decision wins was going to continue, but then one vicious right knee in the clinch changed his fortunes in the best way possible.
Frevola was down for some time after the finishing sequence, but thankfully left the cage under his own power. That allowed Ziam to fully relish the thrill of the moment, and how he is now officially on the radar at 155 pounds.
Ziam has been in the UFC since 2019, but is still only 27 years old. This feels like the time he’s going to evolve into prime form, and with his 6-foot-2 frame in this 155-pound weight class, he is an intriguing matchup for a plethora of names.
Bryan Battle plays the perfect heel
Bryan Battle never appeared to have a shred of doubt that he would walk into Kevin Jousset’s home country and get a victory. He did just that, and leaned all the way into the hate from the crowd.
The moment he scored the third-round standing TKO finish of Jousset, Battle (11-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) flipped double birds to the crowd and relished all the boos. Then he got on the mic and double and tripled down, taunting the crowd during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. It got to the point where you almost worried for Battle’s safety, but he seemed to escape without incident.
The entertaining post-fight antics should not overshadow Battle’s performance and continued successes. He is now unbeaten in his past four fights in the welterweight division, and the 30-year-old is showing some great promise. I’d like to see him get someone in the top 20 and see how that unfolds because Battle is looking more and more like a fighter you want to invest a lot of stock in.
Nassourdine Imavov's dark horse run continues
Nassourdine Imavov reminded everyone once again that he might be the most underappreciated middleweight in the UFC when he thoroughly handled the surging Brendan Allen for a unanimous decision win.
Imavov (15-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) showed he is, in fact, quite well-rounded when he shut down the grappling approach of Allen and implemented his own skills on the mat and on the feet to extend his winning streak to four. Imavov doesn’t get much attention because he’s not delivering highlight-reel finishes or talking big trash on the microphone, but he is no doubt one of the best in his weight class and it’s high time he’s treated as such.
Do I think Imavov will get a title shot next? No. If Dricus Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 is indeed not for the belt, I would expect the winner of Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 next month to get the winner. Caio Borralho has a strong case after that, and Israel Adesanya remains a noteworthy presence in the weight class.
It remains to be seen how things shake out over the next few months, but Imavov has put himself in a position where if he’s left out of the next significant round of key matchups, it would feel like an injustice.
Renato Moicano makes his lightweight statement
Renato Moicano sent a definitive message to the world that he is here for a lightweight title run and not just to be a fun “Money Moicano” gimmick in the division with his doctor’s stoppage TKO finish.
Moicano (20-5-1 MMA, 12-5 UFC) entered the main event against Benoit Saint Denis as the betting underdog. Even if you thought that was unfair, the most optimistic Moicano supporter wasn’t likely to predict him coming out of the gate and throttling Saint Denis with so much damage that he was never going to escape the fight.
To Saint Denis’ credit, he came back and won the second round. However, it almost seemed like Moicano was slow-playing the round so the swelling on his opponent’s face could get to the point he couldn’t see and it had to be stopped. That’s what happened, and the Brazilian is now on a six-fight winning streak at 155 pounds, with this being his most impressive result
Can Moicano become an actual title threat? With someone like Islam Makhachev ruling the division, it’s hard to be hopeful he can actually pull that off. But he’s already surpassed expectations in this run, so let’s see how far he can actually take it.
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