UFC Fight Night 243 takes place on Sunday (AEDT) at the Accor Arena in Paris, France and we’ve got our UFC predictions for all the fights below and you can place your bets with the best betting sites Australia has to offer!
UFC Fight Night 243 Predictions
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Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint Denis Prediction
No.11 ranked lightweight Renato Moicano is banging on the door of a place in the Top 10 after winning his last three fights, but first he needs to face the No.12 placed Benoit Saint Denis, who is looking to move on from a KO loss to Dustin Poirier last time out that ended his five-fight winning streak.
Moicano has been in the UFC since 2014 and has had his ups and downs over the years, but at 35-years-old is now enjoying his best spell in the promotion thanks to good wins over Brad Riddell, Drew Dober and Jalin Turner, together with attention-grabbing antics on the mic, that have helped establish him as a notable player at 155lbs. Moicano is at his best on the mat thanks to his assured grappling ability. He’s adept at taking opponent’s backs, leading to numerous rear-naked choke wins, and he has respectable wrestling too. He is capable on the feet as well with solid technique in his long-range punches and kicks, but he lacks finishing power and has also suffered from durability issues at times, including a spell between 2019-2020 where he was stopped via strikes three times.
The 28-year-old BSD is a swashbuckling all-rounder who aggressively takes the fight to his opponents wherever the fight goes in search of a finish. He’s physically strong, moves well, attacks in volume and has dangerous kicks to go alongside his hard-hitting punches. As such there’s no doubt that he has the power advantage here. While applying pressure he can also transition into takedown attempts and has a good submission game that account for 9 of his 13 career wins. ‘The God Of War’s’ offensive approach does mean he’s been a bit too willing to eat strikes though, and that cost him last time out when he was suddenly KO’d by Poirier.
It’ll be interesting to see if the first knockout loss of his career affects him, but BSD will still draw positives from the fact that he was beating the veteran star up until that fight-ending sequence. He’s also facing an opponent in Moicano who is not known for his punching power, so I think that on the feet he will have a distinct advantage, and can also hold his own on the mat, leading to a 2nd round TKO victory.
Prediction: Benoit Saint Denis to win by TKO in Rd2.
Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen Prediction
Back-to-back wins over Roman Dolidze and Jared Cannonier have lifted Nassourdine Imavov to No.4 in the middleweight division ahead of his co-main event clash with Brendan Allen, who is on a seven-fight winning streak that’s take him to No.8 in the rankings.
Born in Dagestan, the 29-year-old Imavov will be right at home on Saturday night as he’s lived in France since he was 9 and Paris since he was 19. Imavov is a versatile striker who manages range well and likes to keep opponents on the end of his solid punches and kicks from range, with his jab being a good weapon. He is also good on the counter and is fairly sound defensively too, but though he’s never been stopped by strikes he is less comfortable when being pressured. Meanwhile he’s physically quite strong, can use his wrestling both offensively and defensively and has good ground-and-pound, though the submission finishes seen early in his career haven’t yet materialized in the UFC.
Like Imavov, the 28-year-old Allen also has a robust set of skills. He’s well conditioned and hard-working, which leads him to press the action and he’s developed his striking over time with nice fundamentals, particularly with regards to his kicking game. He doesn’t have too much of a finishing threat on the feet though and can be hit, though he’s put TKO losses to Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis firmly in the rear-view mirror over the past few years. Allen’s biggest threat remains on the mat as he’s a well-versed grappler whose current winning streak is littered with back-takes and rear-naked choke finishes. He also has the offensive wrestling and energy levels to take down opponents repeatedly, but can also be taken down himself at times.
This is a well-matched fight and could certainly go either way. I do lean toward Imavov overall as while Allen will push him hard for the full three rounds I think he’s the more natural striker with extra power and craftiness on his side, while he’s also comfortable defending takedowns and operating on the mat if necessary. So I’ll take Imavov to win a competitive fight by decision.
Prediction: Nassourdine Imavov to win by decision.
William Gomis vs. Joanderson Brito Prediction
Another French fighter, William Gomis has won all three of his UFC fights to date and now faces Joanderson Brito, who has won five in a row since losing his UFC debut in 2022.
The 27-year-old Gomis is a tall, lengthy featherweight, but while he’ll have 4″ in height over Brito he’s actually only got an extra inch in reach. He’s a kickboxer who likes to work on the outside and has good technique, speed and can land counter-strikes, but his fairly low level of activity can be frustrating. He will look to clinch or go for the occasional takedown at closer range, but he’s not all that much of a threat on the mat.
The 29-year-old Brito has a much broader skill-set than Gomis and blends it all together well. He’s an athletic fighter with fast strikes, respectable power and is light on his feet, enabling him to close the distance quickly. He’s also a very good wrestler and skilled grappler who presents a significant threat via submission too. With threats in all areas Brito has ended 15 of his 17 career wins inside the distance, split almost down the middle between strikes and submissions.
Gomis has done well to get three wins under his belt but I’m not entirely convinced by him yet and I think this will prove to be a very challenging fight for him as Brito will be far more active, can strike with him, and will also hold a significant advantage on the mat, leading him to a second round submission finish.
Prediction: Joanderson Brito to win by submission in Rd2.
Kevin Jousset vs. Bryan Battle Prediction
After racking up back-to-backs in in his first two UFC appearances, Kevin Joussett now gets lined up against former TUF winner Bryan Battle, whose last fight ended in a no-contest due to an eye-poke, but had gone 5-1 in the promotion before that.
The 31-year-old Jousset is a big welterweight standing 6ft 2″, but he’s only an inch taller than Battle and actually gives up a couple of inches to him in reach. He’s not the most fluid or flashy striker and despite his size is more hittable than you’d expect, but he is a capable kickboxer who will land solid kicks to the legs and body from range and at closer quarters likes to plant his feet and throw hooks. Jousset has a judo background and will employ trips and throws, while on the mat he has good ground-and-pound, including damaging elbows.
Being a TUF winner doesn’t hold the same weight that it did a long time ago, so the 30-year-old Battle hasn’t been given much of a push. And that’s a shame as he’s actually done nicely up to this point, and since dropping to 170lbs a few fights ago has looked better than ever, fighting with more confidence and conviction. He’s got a good set of skills that starts with applying pressure on the feet with high-output striking, showing real grit and determination while piecing together his combinations well. He wasn’t a big finisher on the feet earlier in his career, but he’s had a couple of KO’s in the UFC and now fights like he believes he can get more. He’s also a submission threat on the mat and can wrestle to an extent too.
I like what I’ve seen from Battle lately and I think his more purposeful aggression and better combination work will play well with the judges here as he emerges with a decision victory.
Prediction: Bryan Battle to win by decision.
Morgan Charriere vs. Gabriel Miranda Prediction
Morgan Charriere won his first two UFC fights via strikes, but lost last time out by split-decision and now locks horns with Gabriel Miranda, who lost in his UFC debut, but has since rebounded with a submission win.
Known as ‘The Last Pirate’, the 28-year-old Charriere is a popular French fighter who has a patient striking style with good technique that’ll see him wait for the right moment to land his punches and kicks to all levels. And when he does let his offense go he has good power, speed and accuracy, leading to frequent finishes, but his lack of volume can cost him at times if the fight goes to the scorecards (9 of his 10 career losses are via decision). Meanwhile he has good takedown defense and while it’s not his strongest suit he will go for submission attempts on the mat.
It’s been a year since we last saw the 34-year-old Miranda in the Octagon. He’s very much a specialist as he isn’t much of a threat on the feet, but on the other hand he is a dangerous BJJ player who has finished no less than 16 of his 17 career wins via submission. His wrestling isn’t the best, but he’s persistent and is quite good at creating scrambling opportunities to bridge the gap between his stand-up and ground game.
This feels like a bad stylistic match-up for Miranda as he’s clearly outgunned in the striking department, and Charriere’s measured approach from range and solid takedown defense is going to make it tough for him to get his ground game going. Benoit Saint Denis TKO’d Mirdana in his UFC debut and I think Charriere can do the same in the second-half of the fight.
Prediction: Morgan Charriere to win by TKO in Rd3.
Fares Ziam vs. Matt Frevola Prediction
Fares Ziam is on a three-fight winning streak and now opens up the main card of this event against Matt Frevola, who was on a nice three-fight unbeaten run of his own not so long ago before being being head kick KO’d in 91-seconds by Benoit Saint Denis.
The 27-year-old Ziam is a tall, lanky lightweight who will have a 4″ height and reach advantage over Frevola at the weekend. And he’ll put that to good use as he’s a long-range kickboxer who manages distance well, has well-versed technique and nice snap on his kicks, but he tends to operate at a fairly slow tempo and isn’t as potent as you might expect. Ziam operates comfortably in the clinch if opponents’ close the distance, but while he isn’t a fish-out-of-water on the mat, three of his four losses have been by submission.
The 34-year-old Frevola is a good wrestler and in the past used that more often, but these days he prefers to let his heavy hands fly and has claimed some big finishes doing that, including a quick TKO victory over the granite-chinned Drew Dober last year. His aggression and willingness to take a punch can run him into trouble though and he’s now been KO’d three times in his career, with two coming in the past few years.
I’m torn on this pick. I think Frevola could find success with his wrestling if he chooses to use it, but there’s no guarantee he will. There’s also a chance he could land a big punch to floor Ziam, but I think the French fighter is more polished with his own striking on the outside and could well just gradually pick him apart and exploit his defensive failings. In the end I’ll lean towards Ziam to be slick and elusive enough to frustrate Frevola and win on the scorecards.
Prediction: Fares Ziam to win by decision.
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UFC Fight Night 243 Prelims
(Predicted winners in bold)
Ion Cuțelaba vs. Ivan Erslan
Oumar Sy vs. Jung Da-woon
Ľudovít Klein vs. Roosevelt Roberts
Daria Zheleznyakova vs. Ailín Pérez
Daniel Barez vs. Victor Altamirano
Bolaji Oki vs. Chris Duncan
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