UFC Predictions: UFC Fight Night: Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint-Denis

Next weekend the UFC returns to Paris for its third visit to the electrifying French capital.

UFC Fight Night: Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint-Denis features a major lightweight headliner, and several French fighters up and down the card.

So will the local favorites come out on top? Only time will tell.

Here are the predicted outcomes for UFC Fight Night: Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint-Denis.

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#1. UFC lightweight bout: Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint-Denis

The last two times the UFC visited Paris, local favorite Ciryl Gane headlined the event. This time, Gane will not be in action, but that doesn't mean a French favorite won't send the crowd home happy.

That's because the ever-dangerous Benoit Saint-Denis is set to feature in the main event, hoping to bounce back from his first defeat in the octagon at 155 pounds. But can 'The God of War' get back in the saddle?

While it's probably safe to say his foe this time around isn't as dangerous as Dustin Poirier, he certainly hasn't been given a layup in the form of Renato Moicano.

The Brazilian veteran is getting old in the tooth now - this is his 11th year in the promotion and he's now 35 - but he's still won his last three fights.

More importantly, his last bout saw him overcome adversity to take out Jalin Turner. He survived a bad knockdown in the first round to win via ground-and-pound in the second.

It seems like the paths to victory are clear here for both men. Saint-Denis will probably look to keep the fight standing and hurt Moicano there, as not only Turner, but the likes of Jose Aldo, Rafael Fiziev, and Chan Sung Jung did.

Moicano, on the other hand, will probably hope to trip the Frenchman down and work him over from the top, hopefully opening him up for a submission.

It seems, though, that Saint-Denis is the more likely to be able to apply his game plan. 'The God of War' might be known for the kind of thunderous strikes he deployed against Poirier, Matt Frevola, and Thiago Moises, but he's also an excellent grappler in his own right.

In contrast, while Moicano isn't a bad striker, he definitely doesn't crack like Saint-Denis, and he's now a little slower, too, hence how Turner caught him so cleanly.

With all things considered, then - including a crowd firmly behind 'The God of War', it's hard not to pick Saint-Denis here. Expect the Frenchman to send his fans home happy with something nasty.

The Pick: Saint-Denis via second-round KO

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#2. UFC middleweight bout: Brendan Allen vs. Nassourdine Imavov

While the winner of this bout is not likely to receive a middleweight title shot outright, they won't be too far off it. Both of these fighters are ranked in the top 10, and both are currently on fantastic runs.

Of the two fighters, Nassourdine Imavov has the biggest win on his record. In June, he dispatched former title challenger Jared Cannonier, stopping him in a fourth-round TKO that was slightly controversial given 'The Killa Gorilla' looked okay to continue.

Regardless of that, 'The Sniper' is a hugely talented fighter. A heavy hitter with dangerous strikes and in particular, sharp boxing skills, he's also underrated in terms of being an all-rounder.

That's probably because, originally hailing from Dagestan, he does boast a pretty strong wrestling game. His fight with Ian Heinisch, saw him shrug off the takedowns of a very strong wrestler to beat him down standing.

His only losses to date have come to Sean Strickland, who used his trademark style to lull Imavov into a slower-paced boxing match and picked him off, and to Phil Hawes, who outwrestled him for two rounds and then survived a third.

Do these two losses offer Brendan Allen any hope? It's debatable.

Arriving in the UFC back in 2019 as a highly-touted prospect, his losses to Strickland and Chris Curtis seemed to have derailed 'All In'.

Since then, though, he's recovered excellently. Allen is now riding a seven-fight win streak and has taken out some excellent fighters, including Paul Craig, Andre Muniz, and Curtis in a rematch.

Allen's best work comes on the ground. If he can get to the clinch and drag an opponent down, he's masterful at working his way to the back and securing a rear naked choke for a finish.

We know how good Allen is on the ground. Anyone capable of tapping out Muniz - who famously submitted Jacare Souza - has seriously deadly skills. But can he get into that position against Imavov?

It's tricky to say because his takedowns aren't that great, he does leave himself open to being hit, and 'The Sniper' has stopped better wrestlers before.

Allen is certainly not an awful striker by any means, but given that Imavov is slightly taller than him, is better technically, and hits harder, it's hard to see 'All In' having success standing.

Then, Allen has the equivalent of a puncher's chance if he can secure back control on Imavov, which isn't impossible.

Otherwise, we can expect 'The Sniper' to keep this on the feet and outstrike his foe. It might not be that exciting as Imavov wouldn't be advised to get too wild, risking a scramble, but he should have enough to grind out a win.

The Pick: Imavov via decision

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#3. UFC Fight Night: The Main Card

In a featherweight bout, William Gomis takes on Joanderson Brito. Frenchman Gomis has been unbeaten since 2016 and has won three fights inside the octagon. However, he's got a tricky assignment here.

Brito won his contract with the promotion with a win over Diego Lopes, and everyone knows what he's done since. He's also riding a five-fight win streak and has beaten some tough foes like Jack Shore and Andre Fili.

The issue here for Gomis is that while he's a dangerous striker, Brito has far more weapons than 'The Jaguar'. He's capable of finishing his opponents on the ground too, meaning that the Frenchman could be in trouble wherever this fight goes.

Overall, we can expect a finish in this one, but it's likely to be one that will upset the crowd. The pick is Brito via second-round submission.

At featherweight, Morgan Charriere takes on Gabriel Miranda. A French favorite, Charriere made a big impact in his octagon debut with a knockout but lost his second bout to Chepe Mariscal.

Despite this, 'The Last Pirate' is a very dangerous striker who is willing to trade off with anyone, and as he showed against Mariscal, he's got an excellent chin.

There are questions, though, around his ground game, and Miranda will hope to test them. The Brazilian won his last bout via submission and has 16 tapouts on his ledger.

Like many Brazilians, though, his takedowns aren't that great, and that cost him against Benoit Saint-Denis, who gained top position and abused him for a TKO.

If Charriere can keep this one standing then it ought to be his fight to lose, and it doesn't feel like the matchmakers would set 'The Last Pirate' up to lose in his home country. The pick is Charriere via first-round KO.

At welterweight, Bryan Battle faces off with Kevin Jousset. Both of these men have identical 10-2 records, but it's fair to say that Battle has more top-level experience.

He's now 5-1-1 in the octagon, and aside from a fight with Rinat Fakhredinov who saw him struggle, he's looked very strong. 'The Butcher' is a solid jack-of-all-trades, and while he doesn't seem destined for the welterweight title picture, he should have enough to win here.

Jousset won his first two bouts in the octagon, but neither was truly memorable, and he didn't appear to boast knockout power in his most recent victory.

With that in mind, it feels like 'The Butcher' is more equipped to win here, so the pick is Battle via decision.

Finally, at lightweight, Fares Ziam battles Matt Frevola. This one is a fight between two inconsistent talents. Both men have shown flashes of brilliance at points but at times, they've also shown themselves wide open, causing them issues.

Frevola, for instance, was able to knock out the iron-chinned and iron-fisted Drew Dober, but 'The Steamrolla' also sports a bad knockout loss to Terrance McKinney on his ledger.

Ziam also lost to McKinney, albeit via submission. This would be a red flag given McKinney's striking style, but then he's also got enough about him to beat solid fighters like Claudio Puelles and Jai Herbert.

Ziam will have the home-field advantage here, but it does feel like this is a step too far for him. Frevola is wide open, but Ziam has never shown true finishing abilities in the octagon. The pick, therefore, is Frevola via first-round KO.

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#4. UFC Fight Night: The Prelims

Picks in bold

UFC light-heavyweight bout: Ion Cutelaba vs. Ivan Erslan

UFC light-heavyweight bout: Oumar Sy vs. Da Woon Jung

UFC lightweight bout: Ludovit Klein vs. Roosevelt Roberts

UFC bantamweight bout: Ailin Perez vs. Daria Zhelenyakova

UFC flyweight bout: Daniel Barez vs. Victor Altamirano

UFC lightweight bout: Bolaji Oki vs. Chris Duncan

UFc bantamweight bout: Taylor Lapilus vs. Vince Morales

UFC bantamweight bout: Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Nora Cornolle