PARIS – Manon Fiorot fought through a nasty headbutt to spoil Rose Namajunas’ flyweight debut at UFC Fight Night 226.
Fiorot (11-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) stood and traded with Namajunas (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) for three rounds to earn the unanimous decision win. The women’s flyweight contest served as the co-feature at Accor Arena and aired live on ESPN+.
Namajunas started the fight off attacking with the low kick. Fiorot connected with a few solid shots but made sure to dart out of the counter. Namajunas shot for a takedown, but Fiorot easily stuffed it. Namajunas already started to mark up Fiorot’s lead leg. Namajunas shot for another takedown, but Fiorot defended well again. Fiorot landed a nice combination before the end of the round.
Fiorot landed a big right to kick off Round 2, but Namajunas fired back. Namajunas slipped, and Fiorot capitalized by stacking her against the cage to work for a takedown. Namajunas fended off the takedown, but ate a combination off the break.
Namajunas landed a straight left, which pushed Fiorot back. Now Fiorot slipped this time and Namajunas swarmed her to take her back, but Fiorot broke free. An accidental clash of heads caused a big gash on the side of Fiorot’s head. The pair traded punches before the sound of the horn.
Battle scars for Manon Fiorot 🫣 #UFCParis pic.twitter.com/wKAUOqzrbE
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 2, 2023
In Round 3, Namajunas shot for a takedown, which was once again stuffed by Fiorot. Namajunas shot again shortly after and got Fiorot down for a brief second, but couldn’t keep her down. Namajunas pressured and she appeared to be landing the bigger shots. The pair traded head kicks as Fiorot pressed forward with a combination. Namajunas appeared to stumble Fiorot seconds before the fight ended, closing out the round strong – but it wasn’t enough to get her the win.
After the win, Fiorot called for the winner of the title-fight rematch between champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, which headlines Noche UFC on Sept. 16.
Still some blood rolling down the side of her head, but all smiles from Manon Fiorot after earning arguably the biggest win of her career over Rose Namajunas. 😊 #UFCParis
(🎥 @Farah_Hannoun) pic.twitter.com/7ExqgJwvxN
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 2, 2023
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 226 include:
- Manon Fiorot def. Rose Namajunas via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Benoit Saint-Denis def. Thiago Moises via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:44
- Volkan Oezdemir def. Bogdan Guskov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:46
- William Gomis def. Yanis Ghemmouri via TKO (body kick) – Round 3, 2:20
- Morgan Charriere def. Manolo Zecchini via TKO (body kick) – Round 1, 3:51
- Taylor Lapilus def. Caolan Loughran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Ange Loosa def. Rhys McKee via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Nora Cornolle def. Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Farid Basharat def. Kleydson Rodrigues via submission (arm triangle) – Round 1, 4:15
- Jacqueline Cavalcanti def. Zarah Fairn via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-37, 30-27)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 226.
