With UFC Paris, the largest martial arts promoter in the world is once again a complete success. The exuberant atmosphere in the Accor Arena is second to none. At the same time, the event also increases the chances for other European venues - including Germany.
The city of love becomes the city of punches at UFC Paris. The first event in France was a sign for the UFC that there is more in Europe - not only financially, but also in the public image of the sport. The UFC has already shown twice this year in Great Britain what is possible on the European continent.
On Saturday evening, in Paris, the Accor Arena was already full for the second preliminary. An unusual picture if you are otherwise familiar with the UFC events in the USA, which take place almost every week. The event in the French capital was a strong advertisement for the sport, mainly due to the audience. The jubilation was due to both fighters, provided that no Frenchman was involved in the octagon. The ecstasy at the first mega MMA event in a country where the sport was banned two years ago was palpable in the arena.
The highlight of the evening was the main event, the duel between the two heavyweights Ciryl Gane (France) and Tai Tuivasa (Australia). Tuivasa had come up with something special for the fans in Paris and walked in to the music from the film "Moulin Rouge". In a weight class where one punch is usually enough to end the fight, both fighters delivered a sensational exchange of blows. In the second round, favorite Gane was temporarily on the ground and on the verge of defeat, in round three the Frenchman hit Tuivasa with hard body hits and later with a head kick. Gane finally hit the bull's eye with a right hook towards the end of the round and Tuivasa went down. The hall raged. At the end applause also for loser Tuivasa.
Such an event, such an atmosphere, is of course also what one would like in the German-speaking world. UFC boss Dana White explained the criteria a few weeks ago: The main fight must have a local hero. That makes marketing easier. Of course, if you look at the events in London (twice Tom Aspinall in the main event) and Paris, it makes sense. After the event in the French capital, the chances for Germany have even increased a bit.
With Abus Magomedov, a fighter from Düsseldorf has kicked himself into the limelight. His spectacular knockout victory after a kick to the head of Dustin Stoltzfus makes the 32-year-old a future top 15 middleweight fighter. Although Magomedov has Russian roots, he ran under the German flag in Paris. Hamburg's Nasrat Haqparast, who won his lightweight fight against John Makdessi, would also be a candidate for the main card.
If you extend the idea of a UFC event to the German-speaking area, you would also have Aleksandar Rakic, currently ranked 4 in light heavyweight, from Vienna, as well as the Swiss Volkan Özdemir (number 8 in light heavyweight) and Stephanie Egger (bantamweight). A problem in Germany, however, is that fights on free TV can only be broadcast from 11 p.m., in France this is at least possible from 10.30 p.m.
But the UFC still gives hope in the person of David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President. In his final statement, he threw out several European destinations for the UFC for 2023 and thus also gave hope to MMA fans in Germany. "The plan for next year is to get back to pre-corona levels at international events," Shaw said. In France you want to make regular stops in the future. "But we also want to go back to Scandinavia, we are talking about the possibility of going to Germany, even Spain is a possibility."
