UFC Paris: Hooker vs Parnasse - Sep 5 🇫🇷

[wandshogun09]

UFC debuts don’t come much better than Salahdine Parnasse do they?

Granted, Dan Hooker isn’t the best win in 2026 but he’s a bit of a name, he’s mixed with some of the best in the division and he’s a scrapper. Also thought he looked a fair bit bigger than Parnasse in there on the night. Didn’t matter. Parnasse just breezed through him. Beautiful finish. Bas Rutten was smiling somewhere watching that kick bury into the liver. As intros to the UFC go, this couldn’t have gone any better for Parnasse. A performance like that, basically flawless, over a decent name, in a main event, in front of a rabid home crowd? He looked right at home in there as well. Didn’t seem in any way overwhelmed by the moment, no sign of the old ‘Octagon jitters’ at all. And I think that can be chalked up to how much seasoning and experience he got before coming to the UFC. I liked the Max Holloway callout after the fight and I’d love to see it. I can’t see Max going for it right now though unfortunately. I think he’s in that phase of his career when he’s just after legend fights and big paydays. Parnasse is probably more likely to get someone like Rafael Fiziev, I reckon. We’ll see though. I’d be well happy if we got Parnasse vs Holloway.

Axel Sola’s KO of Fares Ziam in the all France co-main was terrifying but much needed to wake the crowd back up after the rotten MVP ‘fight’. Scary one though. Hopefully Ziam’s alright because just look at this shit.

Didn’t help that Ziam basically folded in half and fell face first into his own knee on the way down. Nasty stuff. Good to see Sola back on track though after that Mason Jones loss. That was his first loss and was the kind of war that can change a fighter. Sola’s responded perfectly to the loss though with back-to-back first round finishes over Ismael Bonfim and now Fares Ziam. Sola seems a good guy as well from bits I’ve caught since Saturday. Apparently him and Ziam have known each other for years and he seemed genuinely gutted that he knocked him out the way he did.

On 9/8/2026 at 11:41 AM, Cousin Jim Bob said:

Oh boy the MVP fight. @wandshogun09 is going to have a field day here. 

Mate.

Not surprised in the slightest but, once again, absolutely bloody rotten. MVP is arse to watch. Awful. As much as I can’t stand him, I wasn’t calling for his release because he is 5-1 in the UFC. But can I say I’m sad about them not renewing his contract? Will I miss him? Will I fuck. The arguments I’ve seen defending him since Saturday seriously boggle my mind. It happens every time. I’ve never seen such a boring bastard have so many defenders, I don’t get it. I don’t know if it’s fans who think they’re coming across more intelligent for pretending to enjoy his snoozers or what? I refuse to believe anyone is genuinely entertained by his bullshit. The most common argument I keep seeing is blaming it on the matchmaking. Far be it for me to defend the UFC but I need someone to explain to me how the matchmakers fucked MVP over exactly? They didn’t give him one opponent you’d describe as ‘grappler first’ until maybe this Ruziboev fight. And even then, Ruziboev came from a Boxing background. The rest were all predominantly strikers. Shara Bullet can only strike and has one working eye, for fuck’s sake. In theory that should’ve been a layup for MVP. Sam Patterson was a step down, a lower ranked guy and all his UFC fights previously had ended in the first round, win or lose. I genuinely think the matchmakers were trying to give MVP a showcase there and he still managed to drag Patterson to the only boring fight he’s had in the UFC. Same with Shara Bullet. That was about as favourable a stylistic matchup as they could’ve given him. I keep seeing his defenders say the Holland and Cannonier fights were fun but, while they probably weren’t as bad as the Ruziboev and Patterson turds, I don’t have good memories of them either. The narrative they’re running now seems to be ‘they should’ve given him top ranked guys who aren’t scared to fight him’. Yeah, because that Ian Garry fight was a real thriller. I don’t think it matters who you put him in with, he has a real knack for dragging guys into the worst fight of their career and I don’t think that was ever gonna change.

To Ebb’s point, I’m not even sure MVP did want out of the UFC. It seemed like it at times because of how outspoken and critical he was. But even after this fight, he seemed to be campaigning to be given another chance in the UFC and had the cheek to say he’s gonna revamp his style, up his volume and take more risks. Laughable that he’s only come to that realisation after SIX chances in the UFC yet now suddenly vows to change when his contract is up.

Easily one of the most frustrating fighters of all time. Even in this fight, one of the few times he actually committed to a strike, he kicked Ruziboev’s knee backwards and you could see Ruziboev basically abandon trying to grapple after that. It was effective. And what did MVP do? Fuck all. He had the guy compromised and did nothing to take advantage of it. It’s what drives me mad when people go ‘well he’s a counter striker, it’s not his fault his opponents won’t throw’. Like being a counter striker means you can’t ever be offensive or try to draw opponents onto your strikes. Basically, it’s all on the opponent to run face first at his fists. If they don’t do that, hey, what’s he supposed to do? Pathetic. Good riddance. Can’t wait to not watch him on Jake Paul’s next Netflix show or whoever is stupid enough to pay and book this walking sack of entertainment repellent.

Daniil Donchenko won comfortably on points against Punahele Soriano but it wasn’t the banger I expected. I’ve said a few times that I really like watching Donchenko but this fight did make me think his ceiling might be a bit lower than I hoped. He did win clearly and I thought he looked a right handful in the first round but I felt like he faded a bit as it went on. Not drastically or anything but, still, I have some doubts. Still plenty of fun to be had with him around this level though and he’s a perfect fit for those European cards.

Kurtis Campbell redeemed himself a bit after a disastrous UFC debut in London. In fairness, the guy who chinned him in London, Danny Silva, is a really good fighter and probably a little bit underrated in my opinion. Wasn’t like he lost to some bum. He looked good here. Although you’ve gotta take into account Peek is a bit of a wally, not the most skilled fighter and was coming off a two year layoff. A step in the right direction for Campbell though.

Man, Losene Keita absolutely smoked Muhammad Naimov in the main card opener. This has to be a lock to be in the running for ‘best finish of the year’ when December rolls around. Just blitzes Naimov in less than three minutes, quickly clocks the empty seat cageside, jumps out of the cage, sits down and gives himself a round of applause?

Ridiculous 🤣 if only this was his UFC debut instead of the disappointing decision loss to Nathaniel Wood. Would’ve actually matched the hype he had coming in. Loved it. Makes it even more satisfying for me because I still held a bit of a grudge against Naimov for being a dirty cheating bastard against Wood himself, so Keita ironing him out kind of felt like justice was served in the end. Keita calling out Lerone Murphy felt pointless though. I’m all for a post-fight callout but that one just seems like he’s aimed a bit too high, too fast. Doesn’t seem like a realistic one right now. That aside, a perfect night for Keita after a less than ideal start in the UFC with the Pitbull cancellation and the Wood loss.

Most of the prelims are a bit of a blur. I had them on live on Saturday but mostly as background noise while the kids were running riot with their cousins. Like @Cousin Jim Bob says, my ‘one to watch’ Lima vs Charriere fell slightly flat. Not a bad fight at all but didn’t catch fire like I thought/hoped it might and that’s mostly because it ended up just not being that competitive. Thought Lima had a really strong performance but, yeah, the showboating got a bit annoying and I don’t remember Lima doing that in his other fights.

Was happy to see Mario Pinto get another win and get back to finishing after that rotten decision he went to last time. It wasn’t the type of performance that filled me with optimism for his future though sadly. If you’re any kind of serious prospect, you really should be running through a guy like Ryan Spann without much resistance. But he had to come through a couple of shaky moments here. Not a great look at this level. I like Pinto though. Seems a good lad and was refreshingly honest post-fight about his anxiety before fights. I’m sceptical about how far he can go but I’d love to see him prove me wrong.

Pavel Andrusca stood out to me. Jumping in on just a few days notice, up in weight, against a pretty seasoned UFC veteran in Nathaniel Wood, survives a knockdown and comes through with the win. Impressive stuff. I’ll be looking forward to seeing his next fight, hopefully under better circumstances.

And I don’t know if anyone caught the women’s curtain jerker but Delphine Benouaich had quite a memorable UFC debut.

Christ! What a way to start the night. Absolutely butchered fellow newcomer Sofia Montenegro with elbows and choked her out cold in two rounds. Brutal scenes. I didn’t know either of these two going in so I don’t know how much of this was Benouaich being a problem or just Montenegro being shite. But if Benouaich fights with this kind of aggression going forward, she’s exactly the type of fighter the Strawweight division needs.

Edited September 10 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

I've seen a lot that MVP Was not given favourable match ups by the UFC, but thats complete bollocks isn't it?

Garry, Shara Bullet, Ruziboev, Pattison, Holland & Cannonier. 

If anything he's been given more than favourable matchups. The problem is his style just freezes other stand up fighters, his judgement and ability of control distance just creates horrible standoffs. They'd be better off matching him with grapples who will want to attempt to get him to the ground.

[jimufctna24]

2 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

I've seen a lot that MVP Was not given favourable match ups by the UFC, but thats complete bollocks isn't it?

Garry, Shara Bullet, Ruziboev, Pattison, Holland & Cannonier. 

If anything he's been given more than favourable matchups. The problem is his style just freezes other stand up fighters, his judgement and ability of control distance just creates horrible standoffs. They'd be better off matching him with grapples who will want to attempt to get him to the ground.

When I watched his fights in Bellator Page could be really good at tying opponents up on the ground, creating a stalemate.

He's just not that exciting of a fighter a lot of the time.

[wandshogun09]

It’s so annoying because he does half the job - avoiding the opponent’s attacks or, more often, makes them freeze and stop attacking altogether - maybe better than anyone else in the game. But then he doesn’t follow up and capitalise on the advantage his style has created for him. He basically makes a lot of these guys sitting ducks. Then does nothing. Yet none of it’s ever his fault apparently. 

[Egg Shen]

11 minutes ago, jimufctna24 said:

When I watched his fights in Bellator Page could be really good at tying opponents up on the ground, creating a stalemate.

He's just not that exciting of a fighter a lot of the time.

Yeah, MVP had plenty of duds. Even the fights he won in highlight reel fashion you can pretty much guarantee were not upto much beforehand.

Im thinking matching with a grappler at least means he'll be against someone who will have to close the hap.

[wandshogun09]

I’ll never forget how disappointing the Paul Daley fight was. That was one of those rare Bellator fights that people seemed to be genuinely buzzing about, MVP didn’t really have the rep for being boring quite so much back then and any Semtex fight was almost guaranteed pure violence, plus they had a bit of beef. That fight being such a dud is when I started becoming really disillusioned and sour on MVP.

Looking at his record, most of his fights before that were finishes and he was only two fights removed from caving Mr Cyborg’s skull in with the flying knee. But even his next fight after that, I have vague memories of the Fernando Gonzalez fight being horrificly dull. His defenders act like it’s all new fans who slag him off but we all sat through the snoozers in Bellator as well. He’s always had a tendency to stink the place out. It’s just back then, he would throw in the occasional highlight reel KO to kind of make people forget, plus he was younger so there was always that hope that he’d put everything together eventually and become more consistent and better to watch. By the time he got to the UFC though, he was already pushing 40, that hope was gone and so were the occasional viral KOs. He’s only got worse as time has gone on. No doubt he’ll beat up some bin man on a Jake Paul card now and people will act like the UFC fucked up letting him walk. Like I said, good riddance. 

Edited September 11 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

I'd forgotten all about the Daley fight. Yeah, that one captured the imagination. One of the few all domestic fights that felt like a big deal.

...it was Daley who tore up the script and tried to wrestle though. Huge disappointment it was.

[wandshogun09]

15 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

it was Daley who tore up the script and tried to wrestle though. Huge disappointment it was.

I’ve never rewatched the fight and I never will. But from my memory, I think he just tried that in a desperate attempt to get his hands on MVP and make something happen. I’m blaming MVP regardless. Daley never wrestles, there’s a reason he had to try to go that route in that fight, and only that fight in his entire career. And it wouldn’t have been out of fear of striking with him where Daley’s concerned. It’d have surely been just to get a hold of him. Unfortunately, MVP’s defence off his back was probably just about good enough to stop Daley doing much on top and we got the nothing happening stalemate we got.

Honestly think that was the last time I ever looked forward to a MVP fight. And that was 2019. 

Edited September 11 by wandshogun09

[jimufctna24]

IIRC, in the first round very little happened between Daley and Page, and the rest of the fight was mostly a grappling match. 

I just flicked through the highlights and MVP did land a good flying knee at some point. But aye, it wasn't an especially exciting fight to watch, especially considering the hype beforehand. 

1 hour ago, wandshogun09 said:

Looking at his record, most of his fights before that were finishes and he was only two fights removed from caving Mr Cyborg’s skull in with the flying knee. But even his next fight after that, I have vague memories of the Fernando Gonzalez fight being horrificly dull. His defenders act like it’s all new fans who slag him off but we all sat through the snoozers in Bellator as well. He’s always had a tendency to stink the place out. It’s just back then, he would throw in the occasional highlight reel KO to kind of make people forget, plus he was younger so there was always that hope that he’d put everything together eventually and become more consistent and better to watch. By the time he got to the UFC though, he was already pushing 40, that hope was gone and so were the occasional viral KOs. He’s only got worse as time has gone on. No doubt he’ll beat up some bin man on a Jake Paul card now and people will act like the UFC fucked up letting him walk. Like I said, good riddance. 

Coker also often matched him with overmatched opponents, even deep into his Bellator run. 

Look at his stretch of fights between his first loss to Lima in May of 2019 and his bout with Derek Anderson in May of 2021. 3 out of the 4 fighters he beat during that period don't even have their own Wikipedia page. 

Edited September 11 by jimufctna24

[wandshogun09]

22 minutes ago, jimufctna24 said:

Coker also often matched him with overmatched opponents, even deep into his Bellator run. 

Look at his stretch of fights between his first loss to Lima in May of 2019 and his bout with Derek Anderson in May of 2021. 3 out of the 4 fighters he beat during that period don't even have their own Wikipedia page. 

And this is what makes me laugh when people defend MVP and blame everyone but him for his fights being steaming turds. On the one hand they’re going ‘It’s the matchmaking, they should’ve booked him against top ranked fighters. At least they wouldn’t be scared to fight’. Then on the other hand, they’re going ‘Coker knew how to matchmake to get the best out of MVP’. Yeah by feeding him bums 🤣 Which is it? Do they want him to fight the elite of the division or Just Eat delivery men? I don’t know why they can’t just accept that the common denominator in all of this is MVP. It’s him.

We all know how much the UFC loves a UK/European star. Especially a ready made one where they don’t have to do any of the work building them up. Look at the way they treated Paddy Pimblett from pretty much his first day in. They didn’t sign MVP to sabotage him. Do people really think they didn’t want him to do well so they’d have another name guy they could put in prominent positions on cards? Of course they did. They matched him up with guys who it’s pretty hard to have shit fights with, probably hoping he’d deliver a couple of these ‘viral knockouts’ from a decade ago that his fans still desperately cling to, so they could push him as a star. But he’s such a dullard he couldn’t even get past that stage and they soon realised that all he had was a load of backpedaling, emoting and taunts. I think the Patterson fight was their last attempt to see if they could salvage something from the whole ‘MVP in UFC’ experiment. A lower level opponent who’s aggressive, sometimes to the point of being a bit reckless, but never boring, and the fight was in London. How the MVP arse lickers have convinced themselves that was the UFC trying to fuck with him baffles me. I think it’s obvious they were hoping that would turn out as a showcase for MVP in front of the UK crowd. But he shat the bed again and I think right there they decided they weren’t renewing his contract so they gave him Ruziboev for his last fight. That’s the only fight of MVP’s six in the UFC where I think they set it up with the hope of him losing. Then he went and won another stinker. 

Edited September 11 by wandshogun09