Opinion: UFC Misfires in Paris

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As UFC Fight Night 243 approaches, I’ve been dealing with a level of… we’ll call it confusion. The top of the card has two fine contests: Renato Carneiro vs. Benoit St. Denis in the headliner and Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen in the co-main event. Both are intriguing contests that are perfectly acceptable main events. So what’s my confusion? I can’t figure out why they aren’t both being treated as headliners.

If I’m being more specific, both contests should be five-round affairs. If I’m to get even more specific, if only one of these fights was going to be five rounds, it should be Imavov-Allen. I say that with a lot of trepidation, as Carneiro-St. Denis is a marvelous battle that I’m happy to see go five rounds. In fact, I want it to go five rounds. However, given the higher stakes between Imavov and Allen, not to mention the greater likelihood of it going past three rounds, I’m of the opinion that the wrong fight was given the greater spotlight.

That’s not to say I’m ignorant to the reasons why the two fights were placed in their respective slots. With St. Denis being a native of France, it only makes sense for the Ultimate Fighting Championship to put him in position to potentially send the French folks home with smiles on their faces. There’s always the possibility that Carneiro steals the win, but there’s a reason so many picked St. Denis to upend Dustin Poirier earlier this year. While Imavov claims France as his home, he’s an import. His nickname—the “Russian Sniper”—tells us as much. I’m sure the French people are happy to claim him, but he’s not a homegrown talent like St. Denis.

I understand why the UFC wants St. Denis to close out the card, but I’m more concerned about the right move being made for the entire organization. That leads to my confusion about why Imavov-Allen wasn’t at least a five-round co-main event. It would have been satisfying on both ends. After all, the UFC was planning to have Dan Hooker and Bobby Green go five rounds in a co-headliner at the end of last year. Those two men were likely at least three wins away from getting a title shot at that point. The Imavov-Allen winner could very well be next in line to fight for the middleweight championship.

Before anyone starts spouting about Khamzat Chimaev, I’m well aware that he’s the UFC golden boy and someone the company would love to anoint. However, there are a few potential hangups that could get in the way, with the most obvious being Robert Whittaker—the man Chimaev is scheduled to face at UFC 308 in October. Outside of current or former champions, Whittaker hasn’t lost inside the middleweight division. He made quick work of divisional dark horse Ikram Aliskerov in his most recent assignment.

For Chimaev, it isn’t just about beating Whittaker. Since fighting three times in two months upon debuting in the UFC, he has fought an average of just once a year. There are several reasons for the inactivity, but Chimaev’s health is the biggest concern of all. A lack of maturity has played a part in it, too. Does the UFC really want to give someone who has proven to be so unreliable an opportunity to be its show horse at 185 pounds? Chimaev has made it to the cage on just four occasions since he completed his third UFC bout in September 2020. By comparison, Imavov has fought nine times and Allen has fought 11 times. That’s a level of reliability the UFC would love to get behind.

It isn’t like Imavov or Allen would be unworthy of a title shot. Allen has recorded seven straight wins, with only two of them going the distance. Imavov may have only won two in a row, but his June 2023 pairing with Chris Curtis ended in an unfortunate no contest due to a clash of heads; and he put beatings on Roman Dolidze and Jared Cannonier in two subsequent appearances. Remember, too, that Imavov’s most recent loss came to Sean Strickland, who went on to become middleweight champion. It’s going to be hard to deny the Imavov-Allen winner a shot at the title.

No immediate suitors exist at 185 pounds outside of Chimaev, Imavov and Allen. Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis has already hung losses on Whittaker, Strickland and Israel Adesanya. Caio Borralho could be a possible wild card, but his lone victory over a ranked opponent also came at Cannonier’s expense. He needs at least one more win to have a legitimate case. That gives the Imavov-Allen winner an excellent shot at fighting for the belt next.

Having established the stakes for Imavov-Allen, what about Carneiro-St. Denis? Carneiro has won five of his past six bouts, with the lone blemish being a short-notice five-round decision loss to Rafael dos Anjos in 2022. His most recent performance saw him upend a heavily favored Jalin Turner at UFC 300. Meanwhile, St. Denis may be coming off of a loss to Poirier, but he hurt the former interim champion on multiple occasions before being finished himself. The setback snapped a run of five straight wins, all of them finishes, for the Frenchman. Despite those impressive credentials, does anyone see Carneiro or St. Denis leapfrogging Arman Tsarukyan, Dan Hooker or the Charles Olveira-Michael Chandler winner at 155 pounds? Even Justin Gaethje—his unforgettable knockout loss to Max Holloway notwithstanding—would still rank ahead of the Carneiro-St. Denis winner for a potential crack at the lightweight championship. Name value still goes a long way.

As far as my assertion about which bout would most likely require five rounds, St. Denis has only gone the distance once in his 16-fight career. The violence and sheer persistence with which he fights makes it unlikely that he would venture into the championship rounds. By comparison, both Imavov and Allen fought into the championship rounds in their most recent performances.

I understand my complaint is relatively minor. Both fights are going to happen, even if they aren’t going to go as long as I would like. However, if the UFC has declared contests outside of main events and championship fights eligible to receive the five-round treatment, it should be willing to offer that option when a matchup truly warrants it. Imavov-Allen certainly fits the bill. Perhaps the Imavov or Allen camp turned down the option. I’m not privy to such information. Regardless, if the UFC isn’t going to make proper use of five-round fights outside of the traditional bounds, then it should have made Imavov-Allen the main event for UFC Fight Night 243.