UFC Fight Night 243 on Saturday at Accor Arena marks the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s third annual trip to Paris in what has quickly become one of the highlights on the calendar. Much of that is due to the always-raucous French crowd, but the cards themselves have typically come through, and this looks like another engaging exercise. Benoit St. Denis might be the most entertaining fighter that France has to offer at the moment, and he gets a willing dance partner in Renato Carneiro atop the bill. Beyond that, it serves as a massive opportunity for French talent. Nassourdine Imavov and Brendan Allen have an outside chance at a title shot with a victory in the middleweight co-main event, while William Gomis, Kevin Jousset and Fares Ziam all get cracks at the most significant wins of their respective careers.
Lightweights
#11 LW | Renato Carneiro (19-5-1, 11-5 UFC) vs. #12 LW | Benoit St. Denis (13-2, 5-2 UFC)ODDS: St. Denis (-270), Carneiro (+220)
He might be coming off a loss, but St. Denis is still one of the shining stars of French mixed martial arts, as evidenced by his headlining status here. There wasn’t a ton of footage available of “God of War’ ahead of his 2021 UFC debut, but what existed was interesting, showing St. Denis to be aggressive if nothing else. While his UFC debut—a late-notice spot up at welterweight against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos—didn’t go particularly well, some poor refereeing allowed St. Denis to show off his durability, eating a level of abuse that would've permanently derailed the careers of other fighters. After a short layoff, St. Denis got his UFC campaign going in earnest back at 155 pounds, and he quickly became one of the brightest prospects in the division. The Frenchman looked like an unstoppable buzzsaw in his wins, applying pressure early and often, eventually swamping his opponents and earning either a knockout or a submission. The back half of 2023 was particularly kind to St. Denis, as his wins over Thiago Moises and Matt Frevola were highlights of their respective cards in Paris and New York, enough so that it wasn’t a shock when he got booked against perennial contender Dustin Poirier in March. St. Denis put in a good showing despite getting knocked out in the second round—it speaks to both Poirier’s talent and the breakneck pace that the Frenchman was able to set—and at 28 years old in a division ripe for some turnover near the top, he figures to break into the title picture at some point within the next few years. The attempted rebound starts against Carneiro in a winnable but clearly dangerous fight, particularly with the Brazilian coming in on the heels of an impressive comeback.
Carneiro has had a rollercoaster of a UFC career over the last decade, to say the least. Initially a top prospect when the UFC picked him up in 2014, Carneiro’s career struggled to get off the ground due to injuries. Despite being relatively anonymous by the time 2017 rolled around, he surprisingly got the call for a prominent fight against Jeremy Stephens, then scored the decision win to make himself a going concern at 145 pounds. Carneiro teased making the leap into title contention on the back of his offensive skills—when he gets going, he can be both a sharp striker and a terrifying submission threat—but had some clear issues playing the nail and the not the hammer, as he crumbled in knockout losses to Jose Aldo and Chan Sung Jung. Given that, it was a bit surprising when Carneiro decided to move up to lightweight in 2020, and it didn’t look like things would change much early on. A quick knockout loss to Rafael Fiziev in Carneiro’s second lightweight fight followed the same script as most of his losses. However, somewhere along the way, Carneiro has developed the mental toughness to get through some difficult spots. A comeback win over Alexander Hernandez in 2022 was the first sign he might have turned the corner, but it has been truly affirmed after his April fight against Jalin Turner, which saw him score a second-round submission after essentially getting knocked out. Add in that things seem to be clicking on all cylinders for Carneiro as a personality, and he’s in the middle of a surprising late-career renaissance. Unfortunately for him, this appears to be where that ride ends. Even in his newfound form, Carneiro tends to need moments to gather himself in the face of adversity and stage a comeback, and those aren’t opportunities St. Denis tends to offer. Add in that the Frenchman can hang with Carneiro on the mat, and this looks like a fight where St. Denis can take the initiative and turn an early advantage into a finish. Things could get dicey if this lasts more than a round, but the pick is St. Denis via first-round submission.
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Carneiro vs. St. Denis
Imavov vs. Allen
Brito vs. Gomis
Battle vs. Jousset
Charriere vs. Miranda
Ziam vs. Frevola
The Prelims