Harry Hardwick couldn’t help but compliment Kauê Fernandes’ kicks after being brutally cut down in his promotional debut at UFC Paris.
Things unfortunately didn’t go to plan last Saturday for former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion Hardwick, who stepped in to make his UFC debut on extremely short notice and up a weight class opposite Fernandes at Paris’ Accor Arena.
The lightweight bout came to an end after just over three minutes of action, as Fernandes sent Hardwick to the mat with some brutal leg kicks and forced referee Herb Dean to call the fight off when “Houdini” was unable to get back to his feet.
It’s not often that you see a fighter get finished via leg kicks, let alone a veteran like Hardwick that already had competed in 17 pro MMA fights before he stepped into the UFC Octagon for the first time in Paris.
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The 30-year-old was clearly in significant pain after the finish and needed a wheelchair once his team helped him out of the cage. The day after the fight, Hardwick reassured fans that his legs are already recovering and also complimented Fernandes for landing the nastiest kicks the MMA veteran had ever felt.
Hardwick may have come up short in his short-notice UFC debut, but in the card’s next fight former PFL star Ante Delija announced himself to the UFC heavyweight division when he knocked out Marcin Tybura in just over two minutes.
UFC newcomers ended up going 2-2 in Paris, as former KSW titleholder Robert Ruchala came up short on the scorecards against William Gomis before former ARES FC Champion Axel Sola stopped Rhys McKee in the second fight on the main card.
Axel Sola (red gloves) fights Rhys McKee (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Accor Arena. / Per Haljestam-Imagn Images
Like Hardwick, Sola was also moving up a division to face McKee after all six of his fights in ARES FC were contested at 155 lbs. The fight with McKee marked his first welterweight outing since 2022, and the Frenchman brought the Paris crowd to its feet with a third-round finish that extended his undefeated record to 11-0-1.
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UFC Paris was also supposed to feature the highly-anticipated debut of two-division Oktagon MMA titleholder Losene Keita, but Keita was unfortunately forced to withdraw from his matchup with Patricio Pitbull due to issues with his weight cut.
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