UFC Parisgoes down this weekend (Sat., Sept. 6, 2025) inside Accor Arena in Paris, France. The main event is a clash of top Middleweights with Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho. Both men will be hoping a win in “The City of Light” earns them a bout with recently-crowned division champion,Khamzat Chimaev.

UFC Paris’ co-main event is a banger, on paper, with Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Mauricio Ruffy in the Lightweight division. Saint-Denis will hope this fight doesn’t go the same way as his last bout in Paris.

Rounding out ESPN+’s main card on Saturday is Bolaji Oki vs. Mason Jones, Modestas Bukauskas vs. Paul Craig, Harry Hardwick vs. Kaue Fernandesand Patricio Pitbull vs. Losene Keita.

UFC Paris’ “Prelims” are headlined by Oumar Sy vs. Brendson Ribeiro, along with Marcin Tybura vs. Ante Delija and Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Andreas Gustafsson joining them on the undercard.

As always, there’s lots to bet on this card and we’ve got odds for all the fights below.

UFC Paris Main Card Money Line Odds

Nassourdine Imavov (+110) vs. Caio Borralho (-130)

Both Imavov and Borralho are growing into their roles as top Middleweights for this current generation of fighters. And both looked very good in their last fights.

In February, Imavov convinced me of his candidacy for the title contender ranks when he pasted former champion, Israel Adesanya, en route to a second round technical knockout (see it here). That extended his win streak to four fights, which included decisions over Brendan Allen and Roman Dolidze, as well as a controversial stoppage over Jared Cannonier (see it here).

Borralho’s last fight was against Cannonier. He brawled it out with the veteran for a convincing unanimous decision win. That took his overall record to 17-1. He’s perfect (7-0) in UFC with stoppage wins over Paul Craig and new Fighting Nerds teammate, Michal Oleksiejczuk (see it here).

This is a very close fight to call and I think it has a shot at being a very fascinating and entertaining encounter. Both these men are well-rounded. I think Imavov, arguably, has the cleaner striking. Whereas Borralho has, definitively, the better grappling.

When it comes to striking, I don’t think Imavov and Borralho are too far apart, though. And Borralho’s striking has looked great when he goes against guys he believes he can unload on without much threat coming back his way. That’s what we saw against the grapple-focused Craig and the wall-and-stall-focused Cannonier.

Borralho’s striking stats are also very pretty. He has above average significant striking accuracy and defense at 60 and 62 percent, respectively. It’s rare to see someone in the sixties for one of those stats, let alone two. His defense leads the division and his accuracy places him in the Top 5.

Imavov is close to those numbers, too, with 55 percent accuracy and 58 percent defense.

Even though I think Borralho stacks up well against Imavov on the feet, I don’t think he’s going to be pursuing a striking dominant gameplan against Imavov. He’s shown us already, that he likes to throw down against wrestlers/grapplers and try to take down and grapple strikers.

Imavov did well against the smothering grappler Allen two fights ago, holding Allen to just one in 10 takedown attempts. I think Borralho is a stronger takedown artist than Allen, though, and I think, over five rounds, he’s going to get Imavov down more than once. On the ground, Borralho will be a threat to find a submission or simply soak up a ton of top control.

Borralho was very much position over submission in his early UFC days, but he seems more eager for finishes now. That being said, if he wants to be smart about this (with a potential title shot on the line), we might see him focus on grounding and pinning Imavov.

I think Imavov will be able to get himself up and avoid a few takedowns. But, ultimately, I think Borralho is going to do more to earn a decision (takedowns, sub attempts, decent work on the feet). Imavov is a good bet to try and maximize the time he gets between takedowns, so I can see him landing something hard on Borralho. However, Borralho has shown to be pretty durable across his career.

Given that the odds are so close, the moneyline on Borralho is very appealing. You can get him -5.5 at +150. That’s a little tempting. I do see this Borralho either finishing this fight or getting a decision and I just don’t see Imavov being able to finish. If it goes to a decision, though, I’m struggling to believe that Borralho is able to blank Imavov across five rounds (since I do really believe Imavov is a tough test for him).

The round total is 4.5 with the over at -195 and the under at +150. If there’s a finish, I think it comes late (due to that durability on both men), so the over looks best to me.

There are lots of prop bets out on this fight, but I’m afraid nothing is luring me in as much as the simple moneyline play on Borralho.

Best bet: Caio Borralho moneyline (-130)

Benoit Saint-Denis (+164) vs. Mauricio Ruffy (-198)

Ruffy extended his win streak to seven fights last time out. That’s thanks to his epic highlight-reel finish over King Green (see it here). That followed his comfortable, albeit not terribly memorable, decision win over James Llontop. Llontop, though, may be one of the most durable fighters in UFC. Ruffy debuted for UFC in 2024 with a finish over Jamie Mullarkey (see it here).

Saint Denis, meanwhile, did okay back at UFC 315 in Montreal, dispatching of Kyle Prepolec with a second round submission; however, he wasn’t utterly convincing as a -1600 favorite. Prepolec was a late replacement for Joel Alvarez (someone who had have given him a much stiffer test). This was Saint-Denis’ comeback fight after he was battered by Renato Moicano in UFC’s last sojourn in Paris (see that here). That Moicano beat down came six months after Saint-Denis was KO’d by Dustin Poirier (see that here).

The big stat that jumps out to me in this match-up is BSD’s below par 41 percent defense against significant strikes. In that Moicano fight, Moicano was able to land 69 percent of his sig strikes. Poirier landed 82 percent! In his debut UFC fight against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, Saint-Denis let through 149 significant strikes on 259 attempts (57 percent).

Saint-Denis’ other fights are mostly short finish victories, but everyone he’s been unable to put away quickly has been able to land a lot of volume against him.

I think that makes this a terrible match-up for him against the sniper Ruffy.

Ruffy, who is longer than Saint-Denis, lands 58 percent of his significant strikes. And his defense is an above average 61 percent. So, Ruffy is ripping and slipping whereas Saint-Denis is ripping and then failing to get his head off the train tracks (we might see him do a Lone’er Kavanaghimpression here).

I needed to warm-up on Ruffy, but I think his power, timing, creativity and explosiveness will all be too much for Saint-Denis.

Respect for Saint-Denis’ accomplishments (and perhaps some tribal betting patterns) are keeping the odds close here, but I think Ruffy could stand to be a much bigger favorite in this match-up.

The round total is 1.5 with the over being -166 and the under being +130. The under is very tempting, since I think Ruffy is going to get a quick knockout here and that, if Saint-Denis somehow manages to get the win, he’ll likely do it quickly, too.

Either way, I think we’re due for a stoppage … and so does Vegas! It has exact method of victory — KO/TKO/DQ — at just -150.

Ruffy by KO/TKO/DQ is +100, while Saint-Denis by that same method is +650.

For my best bet I’m going to show confidence in Ruffy’s striking and a lot of concern for Saint-Denis’ porous striking defense.

Best bet: Maurcio Ruffy by KO/TKO/DQ (+100)

Bolaji Oki (+114) vs. Mason Jones (-135)

Oki got a decision win over short notice replacement, Michael Aswell, last time out. Before that, he ran into a Chris Duncan guillotine (see that here). Despite it feeling like he’s been around for awhile, Oki is still only 2-1 in UFC.

Jones, on the other hand, gave UFC Iowa’s crowd what they wanted, brawling it out with Jeremy Stephens in May. In doing so, he gave Stephens a few too many opportunities to give himself a triumphant return to the Octagon. This was Jones’ first UFC fight since he was released back in 2022 (he had gone 4-0 in Cage Warriors since then).

This fight could be nuts.

Jones, clearly, is not afraid of getting into a fire fight. And Oki lands more than seven significant strikes per-minute. Oki’s volume is probably going to spur Jones into biting down on his mouth piece and throwing mad volume back at him.

Just like with the Ruffy vs. Saint-Denis fight, though, I’m looking at the significant striking defense. Despite his reputation for being a little wild, Oki has a 62 percent defense. Jones has just 48 percent (evidence that he just can’t help but brawl sometimes).

If Jones can resist going to war on the feet, he might find some success on the ground. He has landed a very high 4.24 takedowns per 15 minutes in his UFC career.

I think this is a close fight and I favor Oki (who has only lost once, to a very good Chris Duncan) to come out on top.

The round total for this one is interesting. It’s 2.5 with the under at +124. It’s this high because Oki has only been finished once (by Duncan) and Jones has never been finished. However, if Jones fights the way he did against Stephens, I think he’ll pay a bigger price in Paris than he did in Iowa.

Best bet: Under 2.5 rounds (+124)

Modestas Bukauskas (-355) vs. Paul Craig (+280)

Craig was part of one of the more hilarious UFC endings in recent memory earlier this year. After tapping RodolfoBellato with an illegal up kick he had a front row seat to Bellato flopping around like a fish to exaggerate the damage that was done. I think he was acting a fool to give himself some time or cause a point deduction for Craig, but things snowballed and resulted in a dreaded “No Contest.” Before that farce, Craig dropped a decision to Bo Nickal in one of the worst UFC fights of 2024. These outcomes have given Craig one of the funkiest UFC records out there at 9-9-1 (1 NC).

Bukauskas, meanwhile, is on a three-fight win streak after a close/controversial decision over Ion Cutelaba in May. Before that, he blitzed through Raffael Cerqueira via first round technical knockout and submitted Marcin Prachnio.

Bukauskas has looked very good against the dregs of the division. Craig is a weird cat and very one dimensional, but he’s still a guy who has been able to survive in the business end of this weight class for quite a long time.

I think Bukauskas wins this, but I don’t know if he will be the same buzzsaw we saw against Cerqueira and the like.

Bukauskas is also pretty smart on the ground, so that likely takes away Craig’s best path to victory.

The round total on this one is very low at 1.5 with the over at -145 and the under at +114. I think that line is giving Buskauskas too much credit and being a little disrespectful to Craig.

Four of Craig’s losses have come in the first round, but that’s only happened once in the last five years.

I can see Craig being wiley enough to stay out of trouble for 1.5 rounds, at least.

Best bet: Over 1.5 rounds (-145)

Harry Hardwick (+145) vs. Kaue Fernandes (-180)

Fares Ziam was supposed to be fighting Fernandes. However, he had to bow out because of unfortunate circumstances. It’s a sad story all around and the comparatively minor tragedy is that we don’t get to see Ziam this weekend — he’s been on a heck of a run lately. Since being submitted by Terrance McKinney in 2022, he’s reeled off five straight wins. The most impressive of those wins were his dominant decision victory over Mike Davis in February and his destruction of Matt Frevola one year ago (see the knee knockout here).

Stepping in for Ziam is Hardwick, who has been lights out in Cage Warriors over the past couple of years. He earned the Featherweight title last year and has defended it twice before vacating to take his shot at UFC glory.

Fernandesis 2-1 in UFC. He opened his Octagon career with a split decision loss to Marc Diakiese (Diakiese is now struggling in PFL). Fernandes’ UFC wins are over the awful Mohammad Yahya (who was knocked down like a dozen times in his last fight) and Guram Kutateladze (who he battered with leg kicks).

I’ve liked Hardwick (and his brother) in Cage Warriors. But, I’m also a sucker for leg kicks. If Fernandes focuses on those again, I think he’ll get to cruise to another victory.

Best bet: Kaue Fernandes moneyline (-180)

Patricio Pitbull (+185) vs. Losene Keita (-218)

Pitbull is getting a quick turnaround at UFC Paris. It was only in July that he scored his decision win over Dan Ige to get his first victory inside the Octagon. The 38-year-old debuted in UFC with a very poor showing opposite Yair Rodriguez in April, which ended in a unanimous decision loss.

Keita, on the flip side, is a rare case in that he’s landing in UFC without any reps in Contender Series, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) or Road to UFC. And he’s not a scrub who has been pulled off the local scene, either. He’s 16-1 and a former champ-champ in OKTAGON (an organization that rivals KSW and Cage Warriors for ‘Biggest MMA promotion in Europe’ status). His last fight was in December, when he stopped Ronald Paradeiser for the OKTAGON Lightweight title (adding to his Featherweight strap).

I was way off on Pitbull’s last fight. He showed a lot of drive and energy against a very dissapointing Ige. The story of that fight was him being able to land five takedowns. He better hope he can get take downs on Keita.

Pitbull is going to be significantly smaller than Keita and he’s also more than 10 years older. I think Keita is going to make a big splash here, at the expense of a name UFC has shown not much interest in preserving.

Best bet: Losene Keita moneyline (-218)

UFC Paris ‘Prelims’ Under Card Odds

Oumar Sy (-425) vs. Brendson Ribeiro (+330)

Sy’s reputation as a top prospect at Light Heavyweight was damaged by his unanimous decision loss to Alonzo Menifield in January. Sy looked passive and bewildered through much of that fight and he couldn’t implement his wrestling game against the most experienced and well-rounded opponent he’d ever faced. Prior to that, he took a dull decision over Da Woon Jung.

Ribeiro, on the other hand, was obliterated by Azamat Murzakanov in his last fight (see it here). That loss spoiled one of the worst two-fight win streaks in UFC history, which included a kimura against the terrible Diyar Nurgozhay and a split decision over the even worse Caio Machado.

This fight is going to blow. Can we just call it a draw now and not bother with it?

Both of these guys are very reactive fighters, who will be sitting on their offense waiting for the other one to over reach. I think we’re going to end up with a lot of plodding back and forth in this one, with lots of timid leg kicks sent in either direction.

If Sy has learned his lesson from the Menifield fight, he’ll try and establish his wrestling early. But I don’t know if he has that in him. There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of aggression in his style. The same can be said of Ribeiro, too.

I don’t trust Sy as a big favorite and I actually think Ribeiro might be able to hurt him on the feet. I’ll happy fade Sy here.

Best bet: Brendson Ribeiro moneyline (+330)

Axel Sola (-135) vs. Rhys McKee (+114)

Mckee looked better than ever in his last fight. He pieced up Daniel Frunza on the feet to prompt a very appropriate doctor stoppage at the end of the first round (see the damage here). McKee earned a Performance of the Night bonus for that performance. It also stopped his two-fight losing skid, which included a split decision against ChidiNjokuani and a unanimous decision against Ange Loosa.

Sola has been pulled off the local scene to make up the numbers in Paris. He’s a decent prospect with a gaudy 10-0-1 record, though. He was a champion with Ares FC, but he’s not beaten anyone whose ever managed to graduate past the French scene.

I like what I saw from McKee recently. I don’t have enough intel on Sola to adequately predict how their fight might go down. The bookies are going with the non-UFC tested Frenchman, though.

I’ll simply go with the over, expecting a close fight.

Best bet: Over 2.5 rounds (-166)

Marcin Tybura (-105) vs. Ante Delija (-115)

Tybura has been the “O Hunter” lately. In his last two fights he beat the previously undefeated Mick Parkin and Jhonata Diniz (who he beat up, badly — see it here). Tybura’s last loss was a quick submission to Serghei Spivac one year ago (see it here).

Tybura doesn’t get the chance to spoil another undefeated record in Paris, but he does get the chance to spoil a UFC debut. Delija is coming over after a career mostly spent with PFL. His last fight was a quick knockout of former UFC wash-out, Yorgan de Castro.

Tybura is going to turn 40 in November. At Heavyweight, you can get away with that, though. And Delija is only five years younger than him.

Delija has decent power in his hands, but Tybura has some sneaky speed to his striking. He’s done well at laying it on his opponents and working rather quickly, too. The Parkin performance was pretty good, with him landing 47 percent of his shots to the body.

I think Tybura is a tough assignment for an Octagon debut and I can see the Pole getting the nod here.

Best bet: Marcin Tybura moneyline (-105)

Rinat Fakhretdinov (-105) vs. Andreas Gustafsson (-115)

Gustafsson put a beat down on Khaos Williams in his first post-Contender Series fight. He brutalized and exhausted Williams against the cage before nearly finishing him on the ground. That took Bane’s professional record to 12-2.

In the opposite corner, Fakhretdinov hasn’t competed since Oct. 2024, when he was the beneficiary of awful judging against Carlos Leal. Before that, he took a split decision over Nicolas Dalby.

It was hard not to take notice of Gustafsson after the beating he put on a very tough Williams. I don’t know if he can dominate Fakhretdinov like that, but I think he’ll be stronger in the clinch and that his motor will, again, be a sight to behold.

Fakhretdinov is very well rounded and he has a 91 percent takedown defense. But Gustafsson showed he doesn’t need takedowns to win with his style.

Best bet: Andreas Gustafsson moneyline (-115)

William Gomis (-250) vs. Robert Ruchała (+205)

Gomis lost a fun fight with Hyder Amil that ended in a split decision earlier in March. Before that, he won a split decision against Joanderson Brito. And before that, he took out Yanis Ghemmouri with a body kick (though, that kick may have caught more groin than gut).

Ruchala, meanwhile, is a big name on the Euro scene. He’s coming off KSW here, a promotion where he was the reigning interim Featherweight champ. His pro record is 8-1 and his only loss was because of a soccer kick from current KSW Lightweight champion, Salahdine Parnasse.

Ruchala has been a fun fighter in KSW and he’s put together a lot of highlights. KSW is a great promotion to watch and that can sometimes trick us into thinking the talent level is higher there than it might be.

I think Ruchala will get some wins in the Octagon, but Gomis in Paris is a pretty tough opening assignment for him.

This should be a fun kickboxing match and I expect Gomis’ Octagon experience to get him through to the end and see his hand raised.

Best bet: William Gomis moneyline (-250)

Sam Patterson (-175) vs. Trey Waters (+145)

Patterson pieced up the much-hyped Danny Barlow in March, finishing him in the first round (see it here). Before that, he submitted Kiefer Crosbie (see it here) and Yohan Lainesse (see it here).

Waters, on the other hand, hasn’t competed since May, 2024. That’s when he took a unanimous decision over Billy Ray Goff and earned a “Fight of the Night” bonus. Before that, he beat Josh Quinlan via unanimous decision.

Patterson has a very long reach for the division at 78 inches. However, Waters is just an inch shy of that. Patterson’s striking looked great against the overconfident Barlow, but he might not want to push his luck against Waters (who lands 6.43 significant strikes at 44 percent accuracy). Patterson’s defense on significant strikes is an OK 48 percent, but Waters is an above average 56 percent.

Patterson will have a significant advantage on the ground, though. His lanky frame is very good for spamming submissions. That’s how he’s managed to rack up a very high 3.2 submission average per 15 minutes.

Patterson has a one hundred percent takedown accuracy (though he’s attempted just four in his UFC career). He’s never gone against someone with takedown defense as good as Waters, though. Waters has stuffed 85 percent of the takedowns he’s faced. That includes holding Goff to 1 of 12 takedowns and Quinlan to 1 of 8.

I think there’s a chance Waters is able to stay on his feet in this fight and, if that happens, I think he can out strike Patterson.

Best bet: Trey Waters moneyline (+145)

Robert Bryczek (+190) vs. Brad Tavares (-230)

Tavares defeated Gerald Meerschaert via unanimous decision in his last fight. That was UFC win No. 16 for the 37-year-old Hawaiian. Prior to that win, he dropped a split decision to Jun Yong Park and was TKO’d by Gregory Rodrigues (see that here).

Bryczek debuted in the Octagon in Feb. 2024 and lost a unanimous decision to Ihor Potieria. Around that fight, he saw three other bouts fall through, including — most recently — a bout with Christian Leroy Duncan. Before that loss to Potieria (and his injury woes), Bryczek was on a five fight (technical) knockout streak that included three appearances with OKTAGON.

Tavares looked good against Meerschaert, but that doesn’t seem very impressive given what level Meerschaert seems to be at these days. Even so, Bryczek’s one Octagon appearance was a loss to Potieria, who has rarely looked like a viable UFC fighter across his career.

Tavares should be well-rounded enough to piece together a decision win over Bryczek. The extra long layoff for Bryczek is a good reason to fade him, too.

Best bet: Brad Tavares moneyline (-230)

Shauna Bannon (+270) vs. Sam Hughes (-340)

Bannon won a wild fight last time out. Puja Tomar dropped her with a head kick and, while she was still foggy, Bannon was able to find the fight-winning armbar (see it here). Before that. she took a split decision over short notice opponent Alice Ardelean.

Hughes’ energetic pressure fighting has earned her back-to-back split decision wins over Stephanie Luciano and Victoria Dudakova. Those wins have taken her to 5-5 in her UFC career.

Bannon stills looks pretty raw as a fighter, though she is capable of some highlight moments (also some low lights). Hughes is a lot more steady and polished as a fighter. She might not score a head kick knockout, but she’s pretty good at wearing down an opponent over the long haul.

She’s probably going to match Bannon on the feet, but then start overwhelming here once she mixes in her wrestling.

Best bet: Sam Hughes moneyline (-340)

UFC Paris Long Shots!

Here’s a couple of long shots for Saturday’s action.

Modestas Bukauskas to win by KO/TKO/DQ in Round 3 (+700)

The bookies think Bukauskas is going to get a quick win over Craig. I don’t think he’s good enough to blow away Craig away the first round. I do think he’s good enough to slowly catch up to Craig and end his night in the third, though.

Bolaji Oki to win by KO/TKO/DQ in Round 3 (+1600)

Rinse and repeat! I think Oki and Jones might have a bit of a barn-burner in the Accor Arena. I think Oki has more power out of the two and that he could also get a late finish on Saturday, too.

Three-bet parlay: Brensdon Ribeiro, Losene Keita and Mauricio Ruffy to win (+898)

Ribeiro is my biggest underdog pick on the card and that’s mostly because I think Sy is very overrated. Just in case Ribeiro makes Sy look silly, I’ve paired him up with two guys I’m pretty confident in. Keita is a stud prospect who should be too big, too young, too fast… too everything for Patricio Pitbull and I don’t think Saint-Denis protects his chin enough to last long against Ruffy.

LIVE! Stream UFC Paris On ESPN+

MIDDLEWEIGHT MAYHEM! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads to Accor Arena in Paris, France, on Sat., Sept. 6, 2025, with a must-watch title eliminator. In the main event, top-ranked contender Nassourdine Imavov faces unbeaten rising star, Caio Borralho, in a high-stakes clash scheduled for five, five-minute rounds. In UFC Paris’ co-headliner, all-action Lightweight standouts Benoit Saint Denis vs. Mauricio Ruffy square off, both aiming to climb closer to the 155-pound title picture. All that and SO MUCH MORE — don’t miss a single second of face-punching action.

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Paris fight card, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET, before the main card start time at 3 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To checkout the latest and greatest UFC Paris: “Imavov vs. Borralho” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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