UFC Paris took place on Saturday, September 5, at Accor Arena in Paris, France, featuring 14 fights. Here are the bonus winners.
Performance of the Night ($100,000 to the fighter): Salahdine Parnasse
In the main event of UFC Paris, Salahdine Parnasse knocked out Dan Hooker in his UFC debut. It was a stunning promotional debut for Parnasse, who showed the MMA world why he is one of the best lightweights in the world by taking out a perennial contender in Hooker violently.
Performance of the Night ($100,000 to the fighter): Axel Sola
In the co-main event, Axel Sola brutally knocked out Fares Ziam in the first round with a massive punch. It was an absolutely incredible win by Sola, who should get a top-15-ranked opponent in the lightweight division for his next fight.
Performance of the Night ($100,000 to the fighter): Losene Keita
Kicking off the main card, Losene Keita brutally knocked out Muhammad Naimov in the first round. Keita dominated the entire first round until he knocked Naimov out with a nasty overhand right for his first UFC win.
Performance of the Night ($100,000 to the fighter): Mario Pinto
In a heavyweight contest, Mario Pinto improved to 13-0 in his pro MMA career with a second-round TKO win over Ryan Spann. After Spann connected on an early shot, Pinto weathered the storm and came back to beat Spann with a beating in the second round.
Finish Bonus ($25,000 to each fighter): Kurtis Campbell, Modestas Bukauskas, Matthieu Duclos, Delphine Benouaich
In the featherweight division, Kurtis Campbell completely dominated Trevor Peek with his grappling before finally subbing him in the third round with a rear-naked choke. Campbell won basically every second of this fight before mercifully ending it all with a tapout.
At light heavyweight, Modestas Bukauskas knocked out Oumar Sy in the second round with a nice comeback win. Sy was dominating the fight but gassed out, and Bukauskas took over late, getting the TKO victory for a massive comeback win.
At middleweight, Matthieu Duclos won his UFC debut by KO when he knocked out Luis Felipe Dias in the first round. Dias was dominating the fight in the early going, but he left his hands down and paid for it as Duclos brutally knocked him out just before the first round ended.
In the opening preliminary card bout, France’s Delphine Benouaich put on an absolute clinic against Sofia Montenegro, beating her up and finishing her in the second round via submission. It was an incredible performance by the hometown fighter, who looks like a serious prospect at 115 lbs.
Overall, it was a fun day of fights, as the card featured eight finishes out of the 14 fights that took place. There were a couple of snoozers on the main card that dragged the card down a bit, but even with those bad fights, it was still a really fun event.
The UFC should really consider going to France more than once, as the fans who were in attendance were terrific throughout the entire event and during fight week.
UFC Paris Bonuses Revealed Following French Card