Benoit Saint Denis was the first local fighter to compete at UFC Paris, and he made sure to deliver for his hometown crowd.
On Saturday’s preliminary card at Accor Arena, Saint Denis faced Gabriel Miranda (debut fighter). Miranda was nearly knocked out by “God of War” in round one before the bell rang. But as soon as the action kicked back off in the second, Saint Denis continued the onslaught, dropping Miranda for the third time in the fight before pouncing for the TKO finish 16 seconds into the middle frame.
Watch the video below :
of Saint Denis’ win at stoppage.
The French crowd erupted after this finish by Benoit Saint-Denis #UFCParis
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/nLuXpfKNeg
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) September 3, 2022
The bout started with both fighters being successful on their feet in some exciting exchanges — which included Saint Denis landing an exquisitely timed spinning back fist. As the stanza progressed, Saint Denis started to score big, dropping Miranda twice and nearly closing the show at the end of the first — likely a 10-8 round for the hometown lightweight.
Saint Denis now has won two straight finishes inside the octagon. In the process, he put an end to Miranda’s three-fight winning streak.
