Matches to Make After UFC Paris

The Ultimate Fighting Championship's latest fight night offering returned to Paris for just the second time ever. As with its historic first event a year ago, it was headlined by elite French heavyweight contender Ciryl Gane. At the time, he scored a thrilling victory in front of a roaring home crowd against powerful striker Tai Tuivasa, a fight where Gane was knocked down and badly hurt but came back to stop the Australian late in the third round. He had next fought Jon Jones for the vacant heavyweight title in the main event of a massive pay-per-view but fell short.

He sought to get back on track against surging contender Sergey Spivak, a man meant to test Gane's grappling. Spivak came into the contest having won three in a row and six of his last seven, with the only blemish a first-round knockout loss against another elite contender in Tom Aspinall. Spivak had demonstrated outstanding wrestling, top control, ground-and-pound, and submissions in decimating Greg Hardy, Augusto Sakai and most recently, Derrick Lewis in under two rounds, while showed improved striking.

All that was to no avail, as Gane reminded the MMA world how good he is. Effortlessly dancing around the cage like a middleweight, the Frenchman tagged Spivak with sudden strike after strike, an assortment of punches, kicks, knees and elbows. Spivak appeared stuck in mud by comparison, simply covering up and eating blows, with his few attempts to grapple being capably stuffed. Eventually, the onslaught proved too much, with Gane teeing off on a defenseless Spivak, prompting a stoppage late in the second stanza.

The co-main event featured a top battle of contenders at women's flyweight. Two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas, fresh off losing her crown by majority decision to Carla Esparza, moved up to flyweight to take on the fearsome Manon Fiorot. Fiorot was a perfect 5-0 in the UFC, with all of her wins being one-sided beatings. Still, there were concerns about her level of opposition, as her two biggest wins were Katlyn Chookagian and Jennifer Maia, solid contenders and former title challengers, but not on the same level as Namajunas. Fiorot proved any doubters wrong. While it was her closest and most competitive fight in the UFC yet, and she sustained a major cut on her head, Fiorot consistently landed more and harder strikes in the first two rounds while skillfully stuffing Rose's takedown attempts. I felt Namajunas won the last stanza but it wasn't enough, and the judges felt similarly, giving Fiorot the decision by scores of 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28.

In other action, local Parisian Benoit St. Denis electrified the fans with a second-round knockout of Thiago Moises, his second big win in just two months, alongside a first-round submission of Ismael Bonfim in July. He has now won four in a row in the UFC, all by stoppage.

With the second “UFC Paris” over, here are several exciting matches to book.

Ciryl Gane vs. Tom Aspinall

With Jones scheduled to face Stipe Miocic and No. 1-ranked Sergei Pavlovich the obvious top contender after that, Gane's best prospect is facing the Englishman Aspinall, with the winner likely receiving another title shot. It would be a fantastic duel between two huge heavyweights that, despite standing at least 6-foot-4 and weighing in around 250 pounds each, move as quickly and fluidly as middleweights. Gane will have a striking advantage, though Aspinall is no slouch and could catch and hurt him badly with his devastating elbow. It will also be fascinating to see whether Gane can stop the highly technical and expertly timed takedowns of Aspinall. It's an intriguing, closely matched contest between two highly skilled fighters, which one rarely encounters in the heavyweight division. This could well be a worthy co-main on a PPV, and I would love to see this clash.

Manon Fiorot vs. Valentina Shevchenko-Alexa Grasso Loser

I stated in a recent Matches to Make that Erin Blanchfield deserves the next title shot, barring an incredible performance by the winner of Fiorot-Namajunas. Fiorot's win was good but impressed me less than Blanchfield's, in part because Namajunas was very clearly small and badly outsized at the new weight class. Thus, it makes sense for Fiorot to face the loser of the title fight. If it's Grasso, it's a battle of the two best strikers in the division, which should be tremendously exciting, and catapult the winner into an instant title shot. If it's Shevchenko, Fiorot faces he greatest women's champion ever in my opinion. I would love to see how Valentina's muay thai fares against Fiorot's kickboxing, and whether Fiorot can fend off Shevchenko's tremendous grappling. Fiorot would get a title shot if she wins that fight, and if she loses, it doesn't hurt her much, occurring against such a legend.

Benoit St. Denis vs. Matt Frevola

After his spectacular victory over recently ranked contender Thiago Moises, St. Denis may be ranked. However, even if he isn't, I would love to see him against No. 14-ranked Frevola. Frevola is 33 and not going to ever be a serious title contender, so there is no worry that facing an unranked foe will slow his momentum. However, it would be a wonderful test for the 27-year-old, still improving St. Denis. How will he handle a dangerous brawler that could potentially beat him in the striking and has solid takedown defense to blunt his grappling? Moreover, it could be an absolutely thrilling encounter, a strong fight of the night contender on any card it appears on. Both St. Denis and Frevola are utterly uncompromising warriors, going toe-to-toe and taking large risks in the hopes of securing a finish. This is a win-win for everyone, showing where St. Denis is as a fighter and if he can become a serious contender, as well as entertaining the fans.