Benoît Saint-Denis was defeated in the main fight of UFC Paris against Renato Moicano, this Saturday, September 28 at the Accord Arena in Bercy. The annual French MMA festival was somewhat spoiled by the Brazilian and a performance by BSD which raised questions for his future, at the end of an extremely bloody fight.
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While the first two editions of UFC Paris had placed Ciryl Gane at the head of the bill, this Saturday evening in Bercy, it was Benoît Saint-Denis who was in the spotlight. Except that against the Brazilian Renato Moicano, the “God of war” was surprised. And fell from a height, after being stopped by the referee between the second and third rounds, his eyes swollen by the blows, his vision obstructed by the swelling of his eyebrows, and his face scarred by a wound of a few centimeters opened with a nudge.
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However, “BSD” entered the Accor Arena as at home. Usual entrance music, mixture of chivalrous melody and Seine-Saint-Denis style signed NTM, public celebrating and signature entry into the cage, arms crossed, tattoo of Joan of Arc clearly visible on the back. We thought he would push the ritual to the end, activating forward gear from the first seconds of the fight. Instead, Moicano took BSD to the ground, and rained down blows.
BSD never recovered
The Brazilian took control of Saint-Denis’ back, then settled into a mounted position before making lightning speak. Elbows and fists, everything happened during the five minutes of the first round, under the stunned gaze of an audience who expected a completely different spectacle. It was a small miracle that the doctor did not stop the debate between the first two rounds. God of war has thus returned to war without weapons.
Too violently hit in the first round, he was not able to exert enough energy to reverse the trend. And the doctor, after having tested the deficient vision of Saint-Denis, preferred to put an end to the ordeal before the third round, under the disapproval of the stands, who know their champion well. If there is one who would have returned to combat under these conditions, it is BSD.
At the end of a successful evening in terms of the atmosphere and the content of the fights, the icing on the cake that was supposed to be the Saint-Denis fight was swallowed wrong. The defeat is all the more bitter for the Saint-Denis clan, partially renewed after the fighter got rid of his historic coach, Daniel Woirin, after his last defeat in Miami against Dustin Poirier. Here is the Frenchman with two consecutive defeats for the first time in his career. He who seemed invincible just a few months ago.
Between the time of the care he will need, and the resumption of training which will not happen immediately given the injuries, not to mention a potentially affected brain, the time will come for questions. After such an evening, they will be strong, since the native of Nîmes has just lost against an opponent normally within his reach. What is its scope now?