REPORTING. “Everyone is fully engaged, it’s a real spectacle”: MMA seduces in Paris for the 3rd edition of UFC Fight Night

Despite a defeat for Frenchman Benoît Saint-Denis, the audience at the Accor Arena in Bercy was under the spell of this third edition of UFC Paris.

The ultra-powerful American MMA league, mixed martial arts, organized a new fight evening in Paris, at the Accor Arena, Saturday September 28. With the highlight of the show being the new French star, Benoît Saint-Denis, a former special forces soldier, who faced the Brazilian Renato Moïcano. But the fight had to be stopped in the second round, due to an injury to the Frenchman.

It was a little before midnight when the Frenchman finally entered the arena in front of 15,000 hysterical spectators. “He’s a beast, he’s a beast. He’s in the French army and he was in the special forces. Incredible!” shouts a spectator.

But within minutes, the audience is petrified. On the ground, Benoît Saint-Denis gets beaten up. Blood streams onto the carpet, the Frenchman’s face is completely swollen. The spectators try to encourage him. But after two rounds, the doctor finally puts an end to the fight, “compared to the injuries on his face. He couldn’t continue like this.”

A big disappointment for fans who had paid, for some, up to 1,900 euros for the highlight of the show. “I think 80% of the people here were waiting for this fight, it’s a shame,” regrets a fan. But A haggard Benoît Saint-Denis still thanks the public, who are not resentful and not really shocked, like Salomé, who was attending her first MMA event. “It’s not more violent than I imagined, I’ve already seen extracts on the internet. It’s as I imagined.”

“Yes, it’s violent, of course, it’s a combat sport, it’s the nature of the sport.”

Salomé, spectator

at franceinfo

Christophe, also a novice, does not regret his evening either. “I wasn’t expecting such a crazy atmosphere. Everyone is really into it. It’s great! There are the lights, the people, the sound. Finally, it really feels like we’re in the United States. It’s a real spectacle.”

The UFC, which considers the French public to be one of the best in the world, is expected to return for a fourth time next fall. Hoping that the evening ends differently for the Tricolores.