5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Ciryl Gane vs. Sergei Spivak

The UFC visited Paris this weekend for the second time, and just like the first event in France’s capital, it turned out to be a fun night.

UFC Fight Night: Ciryl Gane vs. Sergei Spivak featured a number of thrilling fights with some excellent finishes, and naturally, some fighters picked up big wins.

Not quite where some of these fighters go next remains to be seen, but it’s fair to say that they’ll be pleased with their handiwork last night.

Here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Ciryl Gane vs. Sergei Spivak.

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#5. Morgan Charriere – defeated Manolo Zecchini in a UFC featherweight bout

Morgan Charriere made an impressive UFC debut [Image Credit: @Morgan_Chapa on Twitter]

It’s always tricky to gauge quite how good a fighter is in their UFC debut, particularly if it comes against a fellow neophyte.

However, even if his career flames out somewhere down the line, it’s fair to call Morgan Charriere a big winner from last night.

The Frenchman dispatched opponent Manolo Zecchini in the first round with what was probably the most aesthetically impressive finish of the night, earning himself a nice $50k bonus in the process.

‘The Last Pirate’ basically picked Zecchini apart with his jab before hurting him with a kick to the body midway through the stanza. When the Italian doubled over, Charriere followed with an unbelievably nasty second kick to the body, folding him for the finish.

Charriere’s record – 19-9 – isn’t that impressive, which suggests he might not climb into title contention any time soon. Despite that, this was his fourth win in a row, and he clearly made a big impression in his octagon debut.

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#4. Volkan Oezdemir – defeated Bogdan Guskov in a UFC light-heavyweight bout

Volkan Oezdemir may have saved his UFC career last night [Image Credit: @volkan_ozedemir on Instagram]

It’s arguable that the fighter with the most to lose at last night’s UFC event was former light-heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir.

‘No Time’ came into the event ranked at No.9 in the promotion’s 205lbs division, but he’d also won just once in his last four fights. More to the point, he was faced with unknown debutant Bogdan Guskov, rather than a fellow ranked opponent.

Had Oezdemir fallen to defeat, his career in the octagon could well have been over. Instead, the native of Switzerland produced his best performance in some time, hurting the newcomer with punches before taking him down to dispatch him with a choke.

Sure, the win won’t move him up the ladder, but it definitely keeps him firmly afloat in the light-heavyweight division’s top 10, and on this kind of form, ‘No Time’ is a threat to anyone. For practically saving his UFC career, Oezdemir has to be considered a big winner.

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#3. Benoit Saint-Denis – defeated Thiago Moises in a UFC lightweight bout

Benoit Saint-Denis looks like a potential contender at 155lbs [Image Credit: @ufc on Twitter]

When Benoit Saint-Denis debuted in the UFC back in October 2021, he suffered a horrible defeat to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and seemed destined to be remembered for taking what was a criminal beatdown.

Since then, though, the Frenchman has dropped to 155 lbs and has quickly become one of the fastest-rising stars in the lightweight division. It’s quite the turnaround, and his rise continued last night.

Saint-Denis came into last night’s event after winning his last three bouts via stoppage, but his opponent – Thiago Moises – was a clear step up from his previous foes. Once ranked in the top 15, the Brazilian sounded like a tricky match for ‘BSD’ on paper.

In execution, though, Saint-Denis largely destroyed him. He hurt him with strikes, busting him open with a standing elbow, and then took him down to abuse him on the ground, too. The fight ended in the second round, as ‘BSD’ basically bullied Moises with ground-and-pound until he could take no more.

Based on this win, it’s hard to imagine Saint-Denis not climbing into the top 15 at 155lbs in the near future. Can he reach title contention? It’s hard to say, but he’s clearly got a lot of talent, and at this point, it’s impossible for fans to ignore him any longer.

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#2. Manon Fiorot – defeated Rose Namajunas in a UFC flyweight bout

Manon Fiorot could get a title shot following last night's win [Image Credit: @UFC on Instagram]

While she didn’t pick up the finish she’d have liked, it’s hard to play down the significance of Manon Fiorot’s win over former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.

‘The Beast’ came into last night’s event boasting five wins inside the octagon, and also knew that a big win could perhaps propel her directly toward a flyweight title shot.

Whether she gets that shot now after failing to put ‘Thug Rose’ away is debatable, but it was hard not to be impressed by her showing overall.

Fiorot largely kept Namajunas at the end of her jab, refused to go to the ground with the former champion, and basically outstruck her for 15 minutes. Considering Namajunas had gotten the better of opponents like Joanna Jedrzejczyk, to see her beaten like this was an eye-opener.

Add in the fact that ‘The Beast’ shrugged off a nasty cut caused by a clash of heads, and this was an excellent showing for her. She might have to fight again before taking a shot at the title, but based on this, she’ll almost definitely get there eventually.

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#1. Ciryl Gane – defeated Sergei Spivak in a UFC heavyweight bout

Ciryl Gane may well still claim heavyweight gold in the future [Image Credit: @UFC on Instagram]

The last time UFC fans saw Ciryl Gane in action, the big Frenchman was utterly embarrassed by Jon Jones, who took him down and choked him out in just over two minutes.

While ‘Bon Gamin’ was favored to defeat Sergei Spivak last night, then, it was also easy to view the bout as a banana skin for him. Not only was Gane’s mental state questioned coming into the fight, but Spivak’s ground game was also seen as being a major threat to him.

Instead, though, it was business as usual for the Frenchman. He proved that despite his loss to Jones, he’s still one of the most dangerous big men in the game.

Spivak perhaps made an error in not simply spamming takedown attempts, but once Gane blocked an early shot, the fight was all but over.

‘Bon Gamin’ basically abused ‘The Polar Bear’ on the feet, hammering him with big shots throughout the fight before putting him away in brutal fashion with a wild second-round flurry.

Will he ever be able to beat Jones? It’s doubtful, but if ‘Bones’ steps away from the octagon as is expected after his clash with Stipe Miocic, he may still be able to claim the heavyweight title.

Based on him climbing back into the saddle in the way he did, he should definitely be considered last night’s biggest winner.

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