MMA Fighting Global Rankings<\/a>)<\/p>\nDan Hooker (8) vs. Salahdine Parnasse<\/p>\n
Dan Hooker has thrived as an underdog before, but there are just too many ways for Salahdine Parnasse to find success here.<\/p>\n
Even if you concede that Hooker has generally faced stronger competition (though Parnasse\u2019s KSW opposition is nothing to sneeze at), his only recent win over a top opponent is Mateusz Gamrot and that was two years ago. He might truly be nearing the end of his decorated career.<\/p>\n
Hooker\u2019s gift for drawing opponents into dogfights has taken him a long way, and he can certainly win one against Parnasse if that\u2019s how the UFC debutant chooses to engage. Parnasse packs serious punch, and he will be happy to let Hooker close the distance for him if it means he can unleash a blistering counter. But he can also take a more strategic route.<\/p>\n
Parnasse has the kind of quick-strike power that has troubled Hooker in the past. He can also take the fight to ground if he needs to, because he\u2019s relentless when he has an opponent hurt on their back. And then you factor in Parnasse\u2019s elite athleticism, and the chance of an upset narrows considerably.<\/p>\n
You have to respect Hooker for signing on for this one, but Parnasse won\u2019t be denied his home-country moment.<\/p>\n
Speaking of giving credit where it\u2019s due, a tip of the cap to the matchmakers for not shying away from booking two standout French fighters against one another.<\/p>\n
Fares Ziam was on a hot streak before running into hot prospect Tom Nolan, who snapped Ziam\u2019s six-fight win streak. An unfortunate result for Ziam, but also one he could learn from as Nolan is one of the few lightweights that can match his dimensions and Alex Sola is of a similar ilk.<\/p>\n
Making this matchup even more difficult to figure out is that Ziam and Sola are both well-rounded, typically of the mind to stand and strike, but neither will sweat it if the fight goes to the ground. Sola in particular looked awesome rolling with Ismael Bonfim in his most recent outing before forcing Bonfim to tap to a D\u2019Arce choke.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m essentially flipping a coin and going with Ziam, just based on how he\u2019s fared against UFC-quality competition. For all I know, this could be Sola\u2019s breakout moment.<\/p>\n
Michael Page vs. Nursulton Ruziboev<\/p>\n
Why is this fight happening? Other than to fulfill the last appearance of Michael Page\u2019s contract?<\/p>\n
\u201cMVP\u201d is inexplicably back at middleweight after a dreary 170-pound outing against friend Sam Patterson at UFC London. I say inexplicably, but Page has actually done well at 185 pounds, earning a win over one-time title challenger Jared Cannonier and handing Shara Bullet his lone loss. And yet, it doesn\u2019t sound like he ever wanted to be in this division much less stick around for the final fight of his current contract.<\/p>\n
If you gave me a list of 100 names I would have expected Page to fight in the UFC when he first signed, Nursulton Ruziboev wouldn\u2019t have been on it. Yet here we are. On the plus side, he\u2019s an opponent that will stand and strike with Page; on the other, it\u2019s unclear if he has the skill set to actually make the fight interesting, win or lose.<\/p>\n
As Jed Meshew and I so elegantly explained on the preview show, Page is at his dynamic best when he\u2019s matched up with bozos that he can style on. Ruziboev doesn\u2019t really fit that bill, so again, I ask what is the thinking behind this matchmaking? Has the UFC really reached the point where they just want the MVP experience to be over with (and for Page to move on to the greener pastures of\u2014duh\u2014MVP MMA)?<\/p>\n
Daniil Donchenko vs. Punahele Soriano<\/p>\n
Throw \u2018em in and let \u2018em start chucking.<\/p>\n
If Page vs. Ruziboev has me scratching my head, Daniil Donchenko vs. Punahele Soriano already has me chomping at the bit. Donchenko was a front-runner on TUF 33, and the 25-year-old Ukrainian has shown plenty of promise in his two UFC fights proper, defeating the more experienced Alex Morono and finishing Theodor Berggren. He\u2019s nowhere near a finished prospect, so now is the right time to see how he fares against a talent like Soriano.<\/p>\n
At 170 pounds, Soriano has thrived, going 4-0, including a 31-second knockout over Uros Medic in January 2025. His recent decision nod over Ramiz Brahimaj was less than thrilling, but it also showed that Soriano could win ugly, a valuable trait at the UFC level. Can Donchenko find success if Soriano decides he\u2019s not in bonus-hunting mode?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m staying optimistic and saying Donchenko hurts Soriano early, unleashing the beast. The action will get fast and furious in a hurry, and I like Soriano\u2019s chances of landing during a flurry and sending Donchenko to his first knockout loss.<\/p>\n
Kurtis Campbell vs. Trevor Peek<\/p>\n
Alright Kurtis Campbell, time for Take 2.<\/p>\n
The funky Scouser ran into the hard hands of Danny Silva in his freshman outing and tasted defeat for the first time as he was finished with strikes in the second round. Prior to the finish, Campbell showed flashes of the talent that made him a reigning and defending champion in England. Having recently turned 24, Campbell has plenty of time to live up to his potential.<\/p>\n
To this purpose, Trevor Peek has been flown in all the way from the mean streets of Alabama. For those wondering, yes, it\u2019s been a while since we\u2019ve seen Peek in the octagon, nearly two years to the day of his most recent fight, a unanimous decision loss to Yanal Ashmouz. Peek is tough as nails and absolutely has a chance to upset Campbell by just coming forward, swinging, and hoping for the best.<\/p>\n
I hate Campbell being such a huge favorite here (-405 on FanDuel<\/a>), but I still expect him to pick up the victory. If he can take the fight to the ground, he might even become the first fighter to submit Peek.<\/p>\nLosene Keita vs. Muhammad Naimov<\/p>\n
Losene Keita had a difficult draw for his first UFC fight, the perpetually overlooked Nathaniel Wood, and in my opinion his sophomore foe, Muhammad Naimov isn\u2019t that much of a step down.<\/p>\n
Even though Naimov has seen mixed results in the octagon, you have to be on your toes against him as he\u2019s just as likely to throw out a spin kick to the face as he is shoot for a double leg. I get the logic here, with Keita preferring a standup battle and Naimov likely to give it to him, but don\u2019t be surprised if the underdog throws Keita off by mixing the martial arts early and often.<\/p>\n
Just going by the always trustworthy MMA Math, Naimov should have the edge given that he won a comfortable decision over Wood, who earned a narrow split nod over Keita. But things are never that simple.<\/p>\n
Keita just needs to do more in this fight to avoid going 0-2. More strikes. More accuracy. And way, way more aggression. Otherwise, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike could lead to another disappointing night.<\/p>\n
Felipe Lima def. Morgan Charriere<\/p>\n
Mario Pinto def. Ryan Spann<\/p>\n
Oumar Sy def. Modestas Bukauskas<\/p>\n
Nathaniel Wood def. Pavel Andrusca<\/p>\n
Fabia Sintes def. Michael Aljarouj<\/p>\n
Nora Cornolle (14) def. Klaudia Sygula<\/p>\n
Matthieu Duclos def. Luis Felipe Dias<\/p>\n
Delphine Benouaich def. Sofia Montenegro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Salahdine Parnasse\u2019s long-overdue UFC debut is here. The higher ranked Dan Hooker might technically be the A-side of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,701,638,82,640,702],"class_list":["post-884384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-latest-news","tag-mma","tag-sports","tag-ufc","tag-ufc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}