Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back in Paris, France to stage UFC Paris later TODAY (Sat., Sept. 6, 2025) from inside Accor Arena featuring a Middleweight title eliminator between Nassourdine Imavov and
Caio Borralho. In the co-main event of the evening, Benoit Saint Denis battles Mauricio Ruffy in a pivotal Lightweight affair.
What UFC event is on tonight? UFC Paris: “Imavov vs. Borralho”
Who is fighting tonight at UFC Paris? Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho Middleweight fight is the five-round main event.
What time does UFC Paris start? TODAY (Sat., Sept. 6, 2025), beginning at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Where will UFC Paris take place? Accor Arena in Paris, France
How can I watch UFC Paris? ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard matches are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET.
How do I bet on UFC Paris? Checkout the latest lines at DraftKings.com
Where can I get UFC Paris updates and results? Get full UFC Paris play-by-play updates and live coverage at www.MMAmania.com!
Now that Khamzat Chimaev is sitting at the top of the Middleweight mountain, all eyes are on him after destroying Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 to claim the strap (relive it again here). While Anthony Hernandez and Reinier de Ridder will throw down on Oct. 18 to make their case for a shot at the title, Imavov and Borralho are looking to do the same later today. And as the saying goes, it’s anyone’s to win at this point. At the moment, Imavov is sitting pretty at the No. 2 spot, so a win will get him top consideration. He is currently in search of his fifth straight win, and is looking to capitalize on his momentum from his knockout win over former champion, Israel Adesanya. Imavov has proven to be a well-round fighter with seven wins via knockout, five by way of decision and four by submission. In short, he can get the job done where the fight goes so Borralho will have to be on his toes from the jump.
Speaking of the talented Brazilian, he is on a 17-fight unbeaten streak, which includes going 7-0 inside the Octagon. He did have to win twice on the Contender Series, but once he got in he has made the most of it. He is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier, though it was over a year ago. That said, it will be interesting to see if he comes in a bit rusty having been out of action for nearly 13 months. Borralho is just one of many talented fighters that make up the Fighting Nerds camp, and he has made his team proud with his impressive run. Now, he is just seemingly one more win away from reaching the big dance. His best bet to win this one is to be on point with his striking, using his size and reach to his advantage. That said, Imavov still managed to get in and tag the taller Adesanya in his last fight, so this one should be very interesting to say the least.
This is actually a hot fight, but it lands here because I don’t understand why it’s not on the main card. Indeed, Andreas Gustafsson and Rinat Fakhretdinov is a nice matchup that doesn’t need to be buried on the “prelims,” especially when I see some questionable fights on the main card such Bolaji Oki taking on Mason Jones. Fakhretdinov is unbeaten in his last 23 fights and is 5-0-1 so far under the UFC banner. As for Gustaffson, he made good on his UFC debut by taking out Khaos Williams this past June.
Original Card Vs. Actual Card:
A Featherweight fight between Patricio Pitbull and UFC newcomer Losene Keita was scrapped the day before the fight after Keita came in heavy by four pounds. As a result, Pitbull launched a scathing verbal attack on his foe, who is lucky he didn’t get cut for coming in heavy for his UFC debut. Also, Fares Ziam had to withdraw from his fight against Kaue Fernandes due to a death in the family and was replaced by UFC newcomer, Harry Hardwick.
A women’s Flyweight bout between Kennedy Freeman and Yuneisy Duben was scrapped after both ladies had to withdraw due to injury. There is no word on whether or not the promotion will book this matchup at a later date in 2025.
Former Professional Fighter League (PFL) Heavyweight champion, Ante Delija, who racked up a 9-3 record during his PFL run, will be making his UFC debut after inking a contract earlier this year. Delija reached the tournament finals twice, coming up short against Bruno Cappelozza in 2021 before winning it all the following year by defeating Matheus Scheffel via first round technical knockout. “Walking Trouble” ended his PFL career with a technical knockout loss at the hands of Valentin Moldavsky in 2024 (see it again here), before bouncing back with a stoppage win of his own over former UFC Heavyweight contender, Yorgan de Castro, at FNC 22. He will attempt to get off on the fight foot against Marcin Tybura, who is currently on a two-fight win streak.
Cage Warriors Featherweight champion, Harry Hardwick, got a late opportunity to fill in for Fares Ziam against Kaue Fernandes on just two days alert. Hardwick is 8-0-1 in his last nine under the Cage Warriors banner with three straight title defenses. As for Fernandes, he has won two straight inside the Octagon after throwing up an egg in his debut. He has a great opportunity at hand to stop Hardwick from getting any momentum right of the bat and ruin his debut party.
Robert Ruchała will be making his UFC debut, as well, after spending the last five years fighting for KSW, racking up an 8-1 record with the promotion. He will be facing off against William Gomis, who saw his 11-fight win streak go up in smoke in his last fight against Hyder Amil. Another newcomer is Axel Sola, who is 10-0-1 so far in his young MMA career. He will battle 10-year veteran, Rhys McKee, who is 1-2 in his last three UFC fights.
How The ‘Prelims’ Look:
Oumar Sy will look to erase the memory of his first-ever defeat earlier this year at the hands of Alonzo Menifield when he takes on Brendson Ribeiro, who is also coming off a tough loss at the hands of Azamat Murzakanov. Neither man can afford to drop his second straight, so expect this one to be highly-competitive.
Sam Patterson is eyeing to lock down his fourth straight UFC win when he takes on Trey Waters, who has won his first two challenges for the promotion in an intriguing Welterweight bout. Patterson has been with the promotion for three years now but has failed to build up much momentum,so now is as good a time as any to get it going. As for Waters, he is 9-1 overall and made his way into the promotion by winning one more fight on the regional circuit after coming up short in his Contender Series tryout.
Robert Bryczek is looking for his first win under the UFC banner after coming up short in his debut against Ihor Potieria, snapping his five-fight win streak. He is in for a tough challenge against longtime veteran, Brad Tavares, who secured a big-time win in his last outing against Gerald Meerschaert, snapping his two-fight losing streak.
Shauna Bannon and Sam Hughes will kick off the event with the opening fight of the night in a women’s Strawweight fight. Bannon got off to a slow start with a loss in her debut, but has since racked up two straight wins. As for Hughes, she is an even 5-5 so far with the promotion, which has been good enough to keep her on the roster, but not good enough to gain much traction whatsoever.
Paul Craig is in desperate need of a win because he has not won in his last four outings inside the Octagon. His last fight was ruled a no contest (NC) after he tagged Rodolfo Bellato with an illegal up-kick. Prior to that, he dropped his last three fights for the promotion, and is just 1-5-1 in his last seven fights. If “Bearjew” can’t get into the win column, he could be on the chopping block.
MIDDLEWEIGHT MAYHEM! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads to Accor Arena in Paris, France, on Sat., Sept. 6, 2025, with a must-watch title eliminator. In the main event, top-ranked contender Nassourdine Imavov faces unbeaten rising star, Caio Borralho, in a high-stakes clash scheduled for five, five-minute rounds. In UFC Paris’ co-headliner, all-action Lightweight standouts Benoit Saint Denis vs. Mauricio Ruffy square off, both aiming to climb closer to the 155-pound title picture. All that and SO MUCH MORE — don’t miss a single second of face-punching action.
Benoit Saint Denis was able to snap his two-fight skid in his last outing by defeating Kyle Prepolec — who was making his UFC debut — via submission (see it again here). Now, “God of War” will look to build off that momentum when he takes on a much, much tougher foe in Mauricio Ruffy, who has been nothing short of spectacular during his time with the promotion. Ruffy — who is also a part of the Fighting Nerds camp — is on a seven-fight win streak and has won his first three outings for UFC. He has proven to be a rising talent with the potential to reach the top. After all, you don’t get compared to Conor McGregor by accident. Still, Ruffy knows to to get caught up in his own hype and this will be by far his toughest challenge to date. A win her elevates him toward a Top 15 spot.
Bolaji Oki is 2-1 in his still-fresh UFC career, and has an overall record of 10-2. With five knockouts on his resume, it’s easy to see that “The Zulu Warrior” prefers to stand and bang. As for his opponent, Mason Jones, he is 5-0 in his last five outings, and he impressed in his UFC debut by defeating longtime veteran, Jeremy Stephens, earlier this year.
UFC Paris Main Event on ESPN+:
185 lbs.: Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho
UFC Paris Main Card on ESPN+ (3 p.m. ET):
155 lbs.: Benoit Saint Denis vs. Mauricio Ruffy
155 lbs.: Bolaji Oki vs. Mason Jones
205 lbs.: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Paul Craig
155 lbs.: Harry Hardwick vs. Kaue Fernandes (not Fares Ziam)
145 lbs.: Patricio Pitbull vs. Losene Keita (cancelled)
UFC Paris ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (12 p.m. ET):
205 lbs.: Oumar Sy vs. Brendson Ribeiro
170 lbs.: Axel Sola vs. Rhys McKee
265 lbs.: Marcin Tybura vs. Ante Delija
170 lbs.: Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Andreas Gustafsson
145 lbs.: William Gomis vs. Robert Ruchała
170 lbs.: Sam Patterson vs. Trey Waters
185 lbs.: Robert Bryczek vs. Brad Tavares
115 lbs.: Shauna Bannon vs. Sam Hughes
*Fight card, bout order and number of fights subject to change.*
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Paris fight card on fight day, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups scheduled for 12 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. ET.
