Fight Coverage
Fighters on the Rise | UFC Paris
Highlighting A Trio Of Emerging Talents Competing At Accor Arena On Saturday
The UFC’s three previous trips to Accor Arena in Paris, France have produced several breakout efforts and served as the ascension point for several to competitors across a handful of divisions.
One half of this weekend’s headlining duo, Nassourdine Imavov, has steadily climbed the ranks in the middleweight division with a pair of previous wins in Paris, while co-main event combatant Benoit Saint Denis registered a dominant stoppage victory on the preliminary card of the promotion’s first event on the shores of the Seine. Additionally, William Gomis, who returns this weekend, as well, has also enjoyed elevating performances in Paris, while featherweight finisher Morgan Charriere has saved his best performances to date for the moments when he’s in front of the partisan crowd in “The City of Light.”
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This Saturday, three emerging talents will make their way into the Octagon looking to further establish themselves as competitors to pay close attention to going forward with massive efforts and important wins as the UFC makes its annual early September trek to Paris.
Get familiar with this exciting trio below and then be sure to tune in this weekend to see if they show out.
Mauricio Ruffy
Lightweight Mauricio Ruffy KOs King Green | UFC 313 on May 13, 2025.
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Lightweight Mauricio Ruffy KOs King Green | UFC 313 on May 13, 2025.
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The “core four” of the Fighting Nerds — Caio Borralho, who faces Imavov on Saturday, Jean Silva, Carlos Prates, and Ruffy — have gone a combined 20-1 in the UFC and, to a man, each of the others will tell you that Ruffy is the most naturally talented, skilled fighter of the bunch. It’s not just lip service either: all three men are ultra-confident in their own skills, and head coach Pablo Sucupira sings the praises of the lot, but if you asked them who the most lethal of the group is, they’d all point to the man that faces Saint Denis in the co-main event on Saturday.
A member of the Dana White’s Contender Series Class of ’23 along with Prates and Silva, Ruffy impressed in his promotional debut, stopping Australian veteran Jamie Mullarkey in Rio de Janeiro at UFC 301 to extend his winning streak to five. He struggled to find opponents and dealt with a late change ahead of UFC 309, eventually rolling into Madison Square Garden and collecting a unanimous decision win in a bout with James Llontop that wasn’t as lopsided as most anticipated.
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But Ruffy reminded everyone of his brilliance in March when he delivered one of the best knockouts of 2025 so far, measuring and connecting on a spinning wheel kick that put King Green on the canvas in a flash and elevated his record to 12-1 overall.
There is some vintage Conor McGregor to Ruffy’s game — the wide karate stance, the dexterity, the speed and precision — and while he resides at the other end of the bravado spectrum as the Irishman, his upside is genuinely the same as McGregor’s when he touched down in the lightweight division: he can be UFC champion.
That may sound hyperbolic or hurried to some because he’s yet to face or beat a Top 15 opponent, let alone someone in the Top 10 or Top 5, but the 29-year-old Nerd has all the tools to be a serious contender in the 155-pound ranks and challenge for championship gold, and all he’s lacking right now is an opportunity to prove it.
Saturday’s matchup with Saint Denis is another solid step up in competition for Ruffy; a date with a ranked opponent with a 100-percent finishing rate, in his own backyard, as he tries to make up for faltering in the main event the previous year. The former French military man is aggressive and dangerous, especially early, and the most significant test to be put in front of the Brazilian yet, and how he does will go a long way to helping figure out whether his ceiling is truly as high as it seems.
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If Ruffy continues his winning ways and scores another emphatic win over Saint Denis on Saturday, a date with a Top 10 opponent could follow, and with the division currently in a fluid state, who knows where a win there could carry him?
Losene Keita
It’s been a rough year for high-profile debuts inside the Octagon, which is why there might not be as much buzz about Keita joining the roster and making his debut this weekend in Paris. Or it might be that a bunch of folks have simply been living under a rock and haven’t been paying attention to his exploits in Oktagon MMA.
Whatever the reason, it should all come to an end this weekend when the newcomer steps in with Patricio Pitbull in the main card opener.
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The 27-year-old Keita was a two-division champion with the European promotion, unifying the lightweight titles with a stoppage win over Ivan Buchinger in the summer of ’22 before venturing down to featherweight and winning gold there towards the end of 2023. And then, just for good measure, Keita went back up to lightweight and reclaimed the title by stopping Ronald Paradeiser last December to extend his winning streak to five and his record to 16-1 overall.
Born in Guinea and now based in Belgium, Keita is a plus athlete with excellent quickness, a diverse striking arsenal, and a nose for the finish, having earned 10 of his last 13 wins inside the distance after opening his career with three consecutive victories on the scorecards. His only loss came in a championship fight as a result of a leg injury, and he’s been back to being lights out since, resulting in fans and observers regarding the “Black Panther” as one of the best talents outside of the UFC prior to his signing.
Pitbull carried the same designation during his decade-plus rule under the Bellator MMA umbrella, but he faltered in his first UFC appearance, landing on the wrong side of the scorecards in a clash with former interim champ Yair Rodriguez. He got things moving in the right direction again with a good win over divisional stalwart and perpetual tough out Dan Ige in New Orleans and now makes the seven-week turnaround to welcome Keita to the promotion.
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This is a massive opportunity for the new arrival: a matchup with a proven standout carrying a number next to his name that can instantly catapult him into the Top 15 and establishing him as another up-and-coming talent to track in the featherweight division.
Robert Ruchala
Keita isn’t the only former champion from a powerhouse European promotion making his debut this weekend in Paris.
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Ruchala arrives from Polish juggernaut and European standard KSW, where he won and successfully defended the interim featherweight title in his last two fights. In the bout before that, the 27-year-old, who trains at both American Top Team and Red Dragon (Czerwony Smok) alongside Mateusz Gamrot, suffered a fourth-round stoppage loss — the only loss of his career to date — to champion Salahdine Parnasse.
When that’s the only guy to beat you, it means that people should be paying attention.
While Ruchala had a run early in his career where he was primarily going to decisions, he’s ramped up the aggression and drive to finish in his last three victories, earning stoppages in each outing as he’s continued to establish himself as the clear 1B in the KSW featherweight ranks and garner the opportunity to make the walk to the Octagon this weekend.
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He’s up against Frenchman William Gomis on Saturday, which is a perfect introductory test, as “Jaguar” has gone 4-1 in the UFC, but is coming off a split decision loss to Hyder Amil in March that will surely have him fired up to shine on home soil against the promotional newcomer. Though not as divisionally significant as Keita’s bout with Pitbull, it’s still a stern test for the Polish debutant and a chance for Ruchala to instantly show the UFC audience — and his contemporaries — where he stands in the 145-pound ranks.
Featherweight has been heating up again in recent months, and the addition of both Keita and Ruchala spices things up even more as we head towards the close of the year.
UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs Borralho took place live from Accor Arena in Paris, France on September 6, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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