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Salahdine Parnasse explains why he decided to sign with the UFC and headline UFC Paris against Dan Hooker

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3 months ago

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Salahdine Parnasse explains why he decided to sign with the UFC and headline UFC Paris against Dan Hooker

Salahdine Parnasse has finally decided to sign with the UFC.

Parnasse signed with the promotion and will headline UFC Paris on Sept. 5 against Dan Hooker. It's a fan-friendly fight, as Parnasse has been sought-after for years, but he felt like the time was now to sign with the promotion as he got a chance to headline a card in his country and against a top-ranked opponent.

“After my fight with MVP, the UFC contacted me, and it was a really simple opportunity: to be part of the main event in my hometown of Paris. This time, the deal was better, and they offered me the opportunity to be part of the rankings by taking a fight against Dan Hooker. It's a really good opportunity for me,†Parnasse said to Ariel Helwani.

Salahdine Parnasse is getting a massive chance in his promotional debut against Dan Hooker to cement himself as a top-10 lightweight.

Salahdine Parnasse not concerned about Dan Hooker's complaint

Although Parnasse might not be a household name to UFC fans, he's a huge star in Europe and in France.

However, after the UFC announced the fight, Dan Hooker revealed he's getting death threats from the French fans. Yet, that doesn't seem to worry Parnasse, as he doesn't care about it and instead is just focused on the fight.

“Everything with the fans, my fans or Dan's fans, doesn't concern me. I have only one goal, and it's to fight Dan Hooker on September 5. I respect Dan Hooker, but the fans do what they want. It doesn't concern me. Dan Hooker's fans can say nasty things to me, but I'm only focused on the fight,†Parnasse added.

Salahdine Parnasse enters UFC Paris with a record of 23-2. He's coming off a first-round KO win over Kenneth Cross at the MVP MMA event earlier this year. He's the former KSW featherweight and lightweight champion, and even fought for the KSW welterweight title but lost a decision.

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MMA

Dana White won't give reason for undefeated fighter's head-scratching UFC exit

Published

8 hours ago

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October 18, 2026

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Dana White won't give reason for undefeated fighter's head-scratching UFC exit
Trending:

Pros react to Joshua Van defeating Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 331: “Horrible judgingâ€
Zuffa LLC

UFC's decision to forgo re-signing undefeated bantamweight Farid Basharat has been puzzling to some, and Dana White hasn't given a true explanation.

Basharat is 16-0 in his pro MMA career, and he went 7-0 under the UFC banner. Despite his success, he ultimately wasn't offered a contract renewal with the top MMA promotion. Many have speculated that Basharat's streak of decisions led to his free agency.

During a chat with reporters during the UFC Edmonton post-fight presser, White implied that UFC matchmakers usually have a problem with the fighter in these situations, but he didn't give an actual reason for Basharat's case (h/t MMAMania.com).

“When guys' contracts are up — and this isn't the first time this has happened. Either guys aren't good to deal with, or the matchmakers don't want to deal with them, which could be turning down fights or whatever the reasoning is,†White said. “If you're 16-0 with 7 wins in the UFC and don't get re-signed, there's definitely a reason.â€

“Ferocious†last competed back in June on the preliminary portion of UFC 329. That card was headlined by the short-lived and disappointing return of Conor McGregor, who suffered ACL and meniscus injuries during his rematch against Max Holloway. Basharat defeated John Garza at the event via unanimous decision.

Decision victories had become a trend for Basharat at the end of his UFC run. His last five wins have gone the distance. Despite not having a a finish since Sept. 2023, Basharat isn't considered a boring fighter across the board. Whether or not he ran into problems with UFC matchmakers remains to be seen.

What do you make of UFC's decision to not offer Farid Basharat's a contract renewal? Do you think Basharat simply lacked the entertainment value and marketability? Join in on the conversation by sharing your opinion in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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MMA

Movsar Evloev thinks UFC 333 fight with Alexander Volkanovski could be 1st UFC finish: ‘Why not?’

Published

11 hours ago

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October 18, 2026

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Movsar Evloev thinks UFC 333 fight with Alexander Volkanovski could be 1st UFC finish: ‘Why not?’

Movsar Evloev knows fans want to see him win a fight without the scorecards. He could make it happen against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 333.

This Saturday in Abu Dhabi, the undefeated Evloev makes the walk to the octagon for the biggest fight of his life as he challenges Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title. Evloev is 20-0 as a pro, 10-0 since making his UFC debut in 2019, so it's fair to say he's earned his shot the hard way. One reason why it may have taken so long for the matchmakers to come around on Evloev is his lack of finishes, as he's yet to score a knockout or submission in the promotion.

UFC 333 would be the perfect time for his first.

“Maybe my fighting style [made it take longer than I expected], but still the most important thing is still winning the fight,†Evloev told MMA Fighting's José Youngs. “Now, I feel like I'm getting better and I've got more abilities to finish the fights and we were working on that since I won my last fight. Even before, it was always fun to finish opponents, but I had tough opponents. None of them is easy to finish. Even just to win them is already a big deal, right?

“Now, maybe my first finish in my first title fight, why not? I have everything to do that.â€

Evloev has also been plagued by bouts of inactivity, but when fight night rolls around, he's delivered, scoring victories over numerous ranked opponents. His past four wins have come against Lerone Murphy, Aljamain Sterling, Arnold Allen, and Diego Lopes, the latter of whom went on to leapfrog Evloev and meet Volkanovski in a pair of title fights.

That success has kept Evloev in the UFC's good graces, even without a standout highlight reel, which can't be said for some notable departures in the past few years, including the undefeated Farid Basharat, who was recently allowed to walk despite a 16-0 record. Evloev was asked for his thoughts on quality fighters not being kept on the roster, and he believes winning still matters.

“I have zero finishes in the UFC, but I'm still in UFC and I'm fighting for the title, so that means that not just finishes is important,†Evloev said. “To show a good fight is also important. Even if you have no finishes, you can show good fight, exciting fight. You can show the beauty of wrestling and there is not just fans of MMA who just wait for blood and something crazy, there are so many good fans who know MMA and they understand and maybe because of them I'm still in the UFC.â€

Volkanovski has suggested Evloev's wrestling won't be enough to beat him, and that the challenger will eventually have to throw down if he hopes to dethrone the two-time champion. For now, Evloev isn't taking the bait, and he's planning to stay the course with tactics that have paid major dividends so far.

Tactics that might just lead to him taking Volkanovski out inside the distance anyway.

“I have a responsibility,†Evloev said. “My whole republic, my whole country waiting for me to bring that title. OK, so for me, all of this is more important than just my ego, so maybe I will take the belt and then we will play around, like taking risks or something.â€

“Even if I knock him out, not because my wrestling doesn't work, but because it works very good, so I will make him tired,†he added. “Then, when I feel, OK we can knock him out, then I will try and knock him out. But he's saying he will take my confidence. Nobody can.â€

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MMA

Henry Cejudo: Alex Pereira has skipped lines long enough

Published

13 hours ago

on

October 18, 2026

By

Henry Cejudo: Alex Pereira has 'skipped lines long enough'
Henry
Cejudo believes Alex
Pereira needs more heavyweight victories before challenging for
another
Ultimate Fighting Championship title.

Pereira is scheduled to face Sergei
Pavlovich at UFC
335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, he
believes he deserved a title rematch against Ciryl Gane, who will
instead defend his heavyweight championship against Josh Hokit
at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Henry Cejudo wants Alex Pereira to win two or three heavyweight
fights before another UFC title shot

Cejudo believes Pereira (13-4) received preferential treatment in
reaching title contention in two divisions. “Triple C†pointed to
Pereira's opportunity to fight Gane for the interim heavyweight
championship in his divisional debut at
UFC Freedom 250. He argues that Pereira must now build a
winning record at heavyweight before receiving another title
shot.

“It's a part of him being spoiled too,†Cejudo said on the “Pound 4
Pound†podcast. “Alex, I'm not picking on you… You’ve skipped
lines; you’ve skipped lines long enough. You’ve had enough
opportunities against Ciryl Gane and you lost. Yeah, there were
illegal blows; I do agree with you on that. But man, that jab from
Ciryl Gane wobbled you. We kind of saw where the fight was going.
It was your debut at heavyweight… I feel like you need to win at
least two–three more fights to fight for the title.â€

Cejudo is not the only former two-division champion to challenge
Pereira's comments about the heavyweight title picture. “Poatanâ€
previously alleged that former fighter and commentator Daniel
Cormier promoted Gane vs. Hokit at the UFC's direction. Cormier
denied the accusation.

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