UFC Paris is almost upon us, which means the Bloody Elbow staff have been hard at work deciding who will walk out as winners at the end of the night.
Nassourdine Imavov returns home to France to fight in the main event, as the #2-ranked Middleweight takes on Caio Borralho in a highly-anticipated fight on September 6.
A win for Imavov could see him earn a shot at Khamzat Chimaev’s title, the same one he beat Dricus du Plessis for at UFC 319 in slightly controversial fashion.
Elsewhere, another Frenchman will be in action as Benoit Saint Denis competes in the co-main event, also taking on a Brazilian in Mauricio Ruffy.
The Bloody Elbow staff have made their predictions about what will happen at UFC Paris, including the two main event fights as well as the Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonus winners
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Nassourdine Imavov vs Caio Borralho predictions
- Jamie Theodosi: Caio Borralho
- Ross Markey: Nassourdine Imavov
- Kyle Dimond: Nassourdine Imavov
- Hamish Woodward: Nassourdine Imavov
The main event of UFC Paris is an exciting Middleweight fight, although the experts think they have it sussed about who will leave as the winner, and who will be carried out after defeat.
While Jamie is backing the Brazilian Borralho to spoil the party in France, Ross, Kyle, and Hamish all see Imavov succeeding in his homecoming to rise to the top of the UFC Middleweight rankings.
It is a hard-to-call fight, and it could go either way, but Imavov is on an impressive run of form, winning his last four fights in a row after returning to Middleweight.
While Imavov suffered a defeat to Sean Strickland at Light Heavyweight, he looks more comfortable at 185 lbs and has excelled since his debut three years ago.
While it may not feature an exciting finish, the Bloody Elbow staff sees a tight points decision win for Imavov as he chases a title fight against Chimaev in the near future.
Benoit Saint Denis vs. Mauricio Ruffy predictions
- Jamie Theodosi: Mauricio Ruffy
- Ross Markey: Mauricio Ruffy
- Kyle Dimond: Mauricio Ruffy
- Hamish Woodward: Mauricio Ruffy
When you put two knockout artists together, anything can happen, so this fight is even harder to call than the main event.
Saint Denis and Ruffy excel in the octagon when going for that killer blow, but the Bloody Elbow experts are sure that it is the Brazilian who will have his hand raised at the end of the night.
Ruffy has won all three of his fights since debuting in the UFC, with his decision win at UFC 309 the only bout of his career not to end via knockout.
While Saint Denis boasts a similar, destructive record, recent losses to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano show that he is susceptible to a big punch, should the right opponent come along.
Well, the experts think Ruffy is the right opponent and will see off Saint Denis in the UFC Paris main event.
UFC Paris Fight of the Night prediction
- Jamie Theodosi: Bolaji Oki vs Mason Jones
- Ross Markey: Bolaji Oki vs Mason Jones
- Kyle Dimond: Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Mauricio Ruffy
- Hamish Woodward: Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Mauricio Ruffy
The experts are torn on their prediction for the Fight of the Night at UFC Paris, with two bouts in particular sticking out as ones to watch.
As mentioned, Saint Denis vs Ruffy seems likely to end in a knockout and will be one that fans need to look out for. When you get two dangerous strikers like these fighters in the octagon, sparks worth the $50,000 bonus are sure to fly.
While Hamish and Kyle back that fight to impress, Jamie and Ross both agree that the Lightweight clash between Bolaji Oki and Mason Jones will be the one everyone is talking about at the end of the night.
Before joining the UFC, Jones was a dual-weight champion in Cage Warriors, and he built on that with a win over Jeremy Stephens after returning to Dana White’s promotion following a mixed first spell in 2021 and 2022.
He is known for some impressive TKO wins in his time, but so is “The Zulu Warrior” Oki. The Belgian fighter only has one loss to his name so far and looks to have all the skills to do some damage in the octagon.
It will be a close fight that anybody could win, but it seems certain to be entertaining.
UFC Paris Performance of the Night prediction
- Jamie Theodosi: Losene Keita
- Ross Markey: Losene Keita
- Kyle Dimond: Losene Keita
- Hamish Woodward: Losene Keita
While the rest of the fights saw the experts struggling to agree, everyone on Bloody Elbow is excited to see what Losene Keita can do at UFC Paris.
The Belgian fighter comes into the UFC with some huge hype behind him, and it’s easy to see why. He won gold in Oktagon in the Czech Republic at both Lightweight and Featherweight, mimicking Conor McGregor’s own achievements in the UFC.
He comes into the event already on the main card, with Bellator legend Patricio Pitbull as his opponent. Keita could become a breakout star if he beats Pitbull in Paris, becomes a worldwide phenomenon overnight, and stakes his claim as a future champion in the UFC.
A performance of the night bonus would be the cherry on top of the cake for that win, although Keita should not count his chickens before they hatch at UFC Paris.