UFC Paris 2023 Results: Gane cements heavyweight contender status with home turf TKO of Spivak

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Paris, September 3: Ciryl Gane cemented his place atop of the heavyweight rankings with stoppage win over Serghei Spivak in main event of UFC Paris 2023: Gane vs. Spivak at the Accor Arena in Paris, France on Saturday (September 2) night.

The crowd at UFC Paris was on its feet for multiple French standouts who put in tremendous performances at a sold out Accor Arena, which recorded a live gate record for USD 4million.

The event ended in perfect fashion with Gane making his hometown return almost a year to the day a perfect duplicate of his original TKO. The event in total saw six of eleven fights end in stoppages - four KO or TKO and two submission wins.

While Benoit Saint-Denis versus Thiago Moises was awarded the fight of the night, Gane and Morgan Charriere also pocketed an extra USD50K for their respective stoppage wins on the card. Here is a recap of the event.

In the main event, former interim UFC Heavyweight champion Gane played a perfect game, softening up No. 7 ranked Spivak with combinations and fleeting footwork, then coming in with the clubbing shots and body punches.

Even Spivak's shoots were negated by Gane's much improved takedown defense. In the second round, Gane came in for the kill and had a tough but withered Spivak out on his feet.

After the stoppage win, Gane said, "I'm really happy with that because that was my mission. My last fight was not my moment, so today's mission was to prove that I'm still here.

"It was tough, the last one, but I was so glad to be back here in front of all of you. This is where I belong, in here, in the cage, and I'm really pleased."

In the co-main event, Manon Fiorot made it six in a row with a win over a legend of the game, former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. It was a close and competitive women's flyweight division and showcased how far Fiorot has come in just a short time.

Across three rounds, Fiorot attacked and countered, weathering clashes with the known elite striking of Namajunas, and keeping it standing. In the end, the scorecards were read in Fiorot's favor.

After landing the decision, Fiorot said, "Thank you to the crowd, that was unbelievable. I have a lot of respect for Rose. Thank you for accepting the fight.

"That was a former champion. Now I want to play for the championship. Alexa, Valentina, I'm there. I'm the one who deserves the chance to be champion."

Also on the main card, Saint-Denis stopped Moises in the second round of a lightweight bout after Volkan Oezdemir choked out Bogdan Guskov for a submission win in a heavyweight bout. In the main card opener, featherweight William Gomis claimed a third-round stoppage against Yanis Ghemmouri.

Earlier in the preliminary card, Charriere and Farid Basharat claimed stoppage wins in their respective bouts over Manolo Zecchini and Kleydson Rodrigues, while Taylor Laupilus, Ange Loosa, Nora Cornolle and Jacqueline Cavalcanti earned decision wins. Here is a look at the final results.

UFC Paris 2023 Results

Main Card

1. Heavyweight Bout: Ciryl Gane defeated Serghei Spivac by TKO (strikes) at 3:44 of Round 2

2. Women's Flyweight Bout: Manon Fiorot defeated Rose Namajunas by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

3. Lightweight Bout: Benoit Saint-Denis defeated Thiago Moises by TKO (strikes) at 4:44 of Round 2

4. Light Heavyweight Bout: Volkan Oezdemir defeated Bogdan Guskov by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:46 of Round 1

5. Featherweight Bout: William Gomis defeated Yanis Ghemmouri by TKO (referee stoppage) at 2:20 of Round 3

Preliminary Card

1. Featherweight Bout: Morgan Charriere defeated Manolo Zecchini by KO (body kicks) at 3:51 of Round 1

2. Bantamweight Bout: Taylor Laupilus defeated Caolan Loughran by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

3. Welterweight Bout: Ange Loosa defeated Rhys McKee by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

4. Women's Bantamweight Bout: Nora Cornolle defeated Joselyne Edwards by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

5. Bantamweight Bout: Farid Basharat defeated Kleydson Rodrigues by submission (arm triangle choke) at 4:15 of Round 1

6. Women's Bantamweight Bout: Jacqueline Cavalcanti defeated Zarah Fairn by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)