The UFC’s first trip to Paris saw a half of the 12 fights end early, much to the delight of the incredibly loud fans in attendance.
At the conclusion of the event, the promotion awarded a Fight of the Night bonus and two Performance of the Night awards.
The main event between former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane and top contender Tai Tuivasa was fireworks from beginning to end. Their back-and-forth war had fans at Accor Arena losing their minds, and naturally, it was a lock to take home FOTN.
Check out who all took home a bonus for their performance at UFC Fight Night 209 below.
'Performance of the Night': Abus Magomedov
If you blinked, you may have missed Abus Magomedov’s debut performance. In just 19 seconds it was over, after a front kick and a flurry of punches put Dustin Stoltzfus down on the canvas. Making his UFC debut in his 30th professional bout, Magomedov couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. The win marks his third-straight victory, all of which have come by stoppage. One fight, one round, and one POTN bonus. Not a bad way to introduce yourself to the UFC audience.
'Performance of the Night': Benoit Saint-Denis
The prelims delivered a number of impressive finishes, and Benoit Saint-Denis’ stoppage of Gabriel Miranda was among them. It was a home game for Saint-Denis, who had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he made the walk to the octagon. After picking apart Miranda in the first round and nearly getting the finish in the final seconds, he needed just 16 more ticks off the clock in the second round to close the show. Saint-Denis takes home the first POTN bonus of his three-fight UFC tenure.
'Fight of the Night': Ciryl Gane vs. Tai Tuivasa
The first UFC main event on French soil certainly lived up to the billing. Former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane met the hard-hitting Tai Tuivasa in the center of the cage to slug it out in front of a raucous crowd. Gane may have hit the canvas in the second round after Tuivasa touched his chin, but he rallied back to close out the round strong. Then, in the third round, the accumulation of body kicks took its toll on Tuivasa, and the finishing combination from Gane was a thing of beauty. For his victory, Gane takes home an extra $50,000, but so does his opponent as they share the Fight of the Night bonus.
