UFC TODAY: Fight By Fight Preview | UFC Paris

The night in Paris closes with a highly anticipated lightweight pairing between divisional standout Dan Hooker and debuting French superstar Salahdine Parnasse.

RELATED: Dan Hooker Back On The Grind | Time For Parnasse To Shine

A fixture in the rankings for nearly a decade now, Hooker enters his fourth UFC main event with a renewed focus after dropping consecutive contests to Arman Tsarukyan and Benoît Saint Denis. “The Hangman” has outstanding striking and has faced elite competition through his lightweight run, making him an outstanding dance partner for the debuting Parnasse.

Long considered one of the best fighters competing outside of the UFC, Parnasse was a two-division champ under the KSW banner, with his last setback coming when he tried to claim gold in a third weight class. The 28-year-old from Aubervilliers carries a 23-2 record with 15 finishes into his debut.

These types of matchups are fascinating as Hooker is seasoned but struggling of late while Parnassse is a hyped newcomer everyone has been wanting to see compete in the UFC for years. That leads to folks typically underrating the battle-tested veteran and elevating their expectations for the debutant, so it will be interesting to see if that’s how things align here and then how they play out once the Octagon door closes.

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Additional Main Card Matchups

Fares Ziam vs Axel Sola

The co-main event also comes in the lightweight division as French standouts Fares Ziam and Axel Sola share the Octagon.

FIGHT WEEK INTERVIEWS: Fares Ziam | Axel Sola 

Ziam entered 2026 on a 6-fight winning streak after closing out last year with a stoppage win over Nazim Sadykhov, only to have his run halted by Tom Nolan in June. Competing at home for the first time in three years, “Smile Killer” is 2-0 in Paris, earning a brilliant knockout finish over Matt Frevola in his last appearance in front of the rabid French fans.

Ruziboev earned stoppage wins over Brunno Ferreira and Sedriques Dumas to start his UFC tenure before deciding to venture down to welterweight, where he dropped a decision to Joaquin Buckley. Since returning to middleweight, “Black” has posted three more wins, including a technical submission finish of Andrey Pulyaev in June.

Middleweight remains in flux as we head towards the final quarter of the year. Whoever leaves Paris with a fourth consecutive win in tow should be looking at a date with a ranked fighter next time out.

Daniil Donchenko vs Punahele Soriano

Streaking welterweights share the Octagon here as The Ultimate Fighter winner Daniil Donchenko faces off with Dana White’s Contender Series grad Punahele Soriano.

MORE: Donchenko Got His Wish | Soriano Happiest In The Background

Donchenko punched his ticket to the UFC with a bloody win over Rodrigo Sezinando at last year’s Noche UFC event and has subsequently added wins over Alex Moreno and Theodor Berggren to his resume. The 25-year-old Ukrainian is an all-action fighter who does well to lead with elbows and inflicting damage although his willingness to stand in the pocket means he occasionally puts himself in harm’s way.

Soriano has quietly posted four straight wins since moving down to welterweight, having most recently won a hard-fought battle against Ramiz Brahimaj in February. The Xtreme Couture product has a good chin, excellent power, and quality grappling skills in his back pocket if he needs to change the tempo.

This is one of those fights that is flying under the radar. Whoever wins this one should, at the very least, earn a date with a ranked opponent next time out.

Kurtis Campbell vs Trevor Peek

Naimov has gone 5-2 through his first seven UFC appearances but is just 2-2 over his last four. The experienced fighter from Tajikistan will look to lean on his superior experience at this level to get things moving in the right direction again while handing Keita another loss.

Preliminary Card Pairings

Morgan Charriere vs Felipe Lima

Popular French featherweight Morgan Charriere makes his return to Paris this weekend, facing off with Stockholm-based Brazilian Felipe Lima in the featured prelim.

WATCH: Felipe Lima Submits Muhammad Naimov

Fighting in Paris has produced the best results of Charriere’s UFC career thus far as “The Last Pirate” has earned a pair of stoppage wins in two appearances at Accor Arena. He ran afoul of Brazilian Melquizael Costa in the penultimate UFC bout of 2025 last December and looks to parlay another fight at home into a return to the win column here.

Lima impressed in his short-notice debut when he submitted Muhammad Naimov before returning to bantamweight, beating Miles Johns and dropping a competitive decision to rising star Payton Talbott. Now, “Jungle Boy” returns to the 145-pound weight class in search of a return to the win column.

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This profiles as a clash of styles that hinges on Charriere’s ability to keep this fight in space and avoid any entanglements with Lima. Both were standout prospects before arriving in the UFC, and now they look to establish some footing and start building some consistent success inside the Octagon.

Mario Pinto vs Ryan Spann

After getting caught in a submission last time out, Sy returns to Paris seeking to return to the form that produced wins in three of his first four UFC appearances. Bukauskas wasted no time getting back into the win column after falling to Nikita Krylov in January, landing on the happy side of a split decision verdict at the conclusion of his clash with Christian Edwards.

Nathaniel Wood vs Pavel Andrusca

Talented British veteran Nathaniel Wood makes his first business trip to Paris, where he faces off with promotional newcomer Pavel Andrusca.

Entering on a four-fight winning streak and having won seven of eight since touching down in the featherweight division, Wood looks to deliver the kind of performance that carries him into the rankings or sets him up opposite a ranked opponent next time out. Filling in for recent TUF winner Mairon Santos, the undefeated Andrusca looks to send notice to the rest of the division that he is a new force to contend with by halting Wood's run of success and securing a statement win in his debut.

Michael Aljarouj vs Fabia Sintes

Newcomers meet in Paris on Saturday as France’s Michael Aljarouj shares the Octagon with Fabia Sintes.

Full GarciaBenn Fight Card Announced | Limited Tickets Remain, Get Yours Here!

“The Soldier” carries a solid 13-3 record with one no contest into his promotional debut at home this weekend, looking to add to his seven-fight unbeaten streak. Sintes has won seven straight ahead of his first UFC appearance, most recently winning and successfully defending the WOW flyweight title twice. 

Nora Cornolle vs Klaudia Sygula

French striker Nora Cornolle welcomes Klaudia Sygula to Paris this weekend where she looks to halt her two-fight skid and the Polish prospect’s two-fight winning streak.

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Cornolle split her first six UFC appearances, including her two previous bouts at Accor Arena, and enters this one off a second-round stoppage loss to Joselyne Edwards. Across the cage, Sygula arrives having earned consecutive victories, most recently besting Brazilian veteran Priscila Cachoeira.

Matthieu Duclos vs Luis Felipe Dias

Matthieu Duclos looks to make the most of his first opportunity to compete inside the Octagon as the debuting middleweight takes on recent DWCS grad Luis Felipe Dias.

Duclos landed on the wrong end of things in his DWCS appearance in Season 7 but has since posted four straight wins to earn this call to the biggest stage in the sport in his home nation. On Saturday, he faces off with Dias, who earned a contract last season and has since followed up that effort with a first-round stoppage win over YiSak Lee at the end of May.

Delphine Benouaich vs Sofia Montenegro

Recent TUF semifinalist Delphine Benouaich gets the chance to open the UFC’s return to Paris by making her debut against fellow newcomer Sofia Montenegro of Argentina.