UFC Paris France Preview: Moicano Faces Off Against Saint-Denis
After a one-week break for UFC after UFC 306, UFC will make their long-awaited return to Paris, France, on September 28th. Headlining the UFC’s Paris event is eleventh-ranked Lightweight contender Renato Moicano versus the 12th-ranked Lightweight contender Benoît Saint-Denis. With Moicano being a veteran of the UFC, this fight is crucial for him to win to prove he is actually a contender, Benoît is young and hungry to make up for his recent KO loss. With that being said, how will these two match up?
Renato Moicano versus Benoît Saint-Denis is set to be a barn burner; both athletes have grappling capabilities; having said that, it is Saint-Denis who possesses more of a threat in the striking department. On paper, Benoît has the better stats and is the betting favorite at -250 compared to the underdog Moicano sitting at +220. An interesting stat for Moicano is he has a higher strike-defense percentage than Saint-Denis and possesses a better gas tank than his opponent.
Renato Moicano is a veteran in the UFC, starting his run with the promotion in 2014. Renato moved up to the Lightweight Division from the Featherweight in 2020, since his move to the Lightweight Division, Moicano has been able to win six out of eight bouts in the Lightweight Division, with five of those coming by finish, and is now on a three-fight win streak. Moicano is coming off a big comeback win over Jalin Turner. A win over Saint Denis will show that Moicano is now in his prime and is ready to break through the top ten in the lightweight division.
Benoît Saint-Denis, on the other hand, maybe in his redemption arc. Benoît joined the UFC in 2021 and made his debut in the Welterweight Division, Benoît lost his UFC debut by decision. After his loss, Benoît decided to move down to the Lightweight Division, the move was absolutely the right decision for Saint-Denis as he went on a five-fight win streak while finishing all of his opponents. Benoît KO’ed Matt Frevola, and during the post-fight interview, he called future UFC Hall of Famer Dustin Poirier. The UFC gave Saint Denis the fight he wanted, a win over Poirier would have made Saint-Denis a title Challenger. Dustin Poirier had a hard time dealing with the grappling and pressure of Saint-Denis in the first round, however, in the second round, Benoît got fatigued from the pace and got KO’ed by Poirier.
Looking at this match-up between Moicano and Saint-Denis, the clash could potentially be a nail-biter. However, I do see potential outcomes for each combatant. If Saint-Denis was to win this fight, it would most likely be by KO. Benoît has power, and unfortunately for Moicano, he has been KO’ed a few times. If Benoît fights with range, not over-exhausting himself, he should be able to get it done. On the flip side, Moicano can go five rounds and can stay active longer than Saint-Denis if Benoît would aggressively pressure without trying to conserve energy for the later rounds as he did in his last fight against Poirier. If Moicano could survive the onslaught, then he should be able to get a fatigued Benoît on the ground and ground and pound his way to a victory. If I had to predict who will win, I would go with Benoît Saint-Denis taking it.
