UFC Paris Prelims: Oumar Sy Thrills French Compatriots, Routs Brendson Ribeiro

Oumar Sy delivered on home soil.

The 29-year-old Frenchman rebounded from a June 14 decision loss to Alonzo Menifield and re-established himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division with a first-round technical knockout of Brendson Ribeiro in their featured UFC Fight Night 258 prelim on Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris. Sy (12-1, 3-1 UFC) buried the Brazilian with elbows and punches 4:42 into Round 1.

Ribeiro (17-9, 2-4 UFC) was a non-factor outside of a nice kimura sweep from the bottom. Sy executed his second takedown with roughly 90 seconds left in the first round, maneuvered behind the former Shooto Brazil champion and sent a volley of elbows and punches crashing into the side of his head. The blows went unanswered, leaving referee Patricio Carlos no choice but to intervene.

Meanwhile, 2022 Professional Fighters League tournament winner Ante Delija made quite an impression in his promotional debut, as he cut down Marcin Tybura with punches in the first round of their heavyweight rematch. Tybura (27-10, 14-9 UFC) met his end 2:03 into Round 1.

Delija (26-6, 1-0 UFC)—a Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic disciple who suffered a gruesome leg injury in a technical knockout loss to the Pole when they first met almost a decade ago—stepped forward with a blistering combination, shrugged off a clinch from the onetime M-1 Global champion and picked up where he left off once they separated. He backed Tybura toward the fence, decked him with a devastating left uppercut and pounded way with punches until the job was done.

The 35-year-old Delija has recorded seven victories across his past eight outings.

Further down the undercard, Nova Uniao’s Kaue Fernandes stopped former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Harry Hardwick with vicious leg kicks in the first round of their lightweight pairing. A short-notice substitution for Fares Ziam, Hardwick (13-4-1, 0-1 UFC) checked out 3:21 into Round 1.

Fernandes (11-2, 3-1 UFC) attacked both legs on the promotional newcomer with power and precision. Once his base was compromised, Hardwick hobbled around the cage and ate punches from the Brazilian. Fernandes took time to toy with his prey—in fact, he was almost diabolically patient—before one final shin-to-calf impact dropped “Houdini” where he stood and forced referee Herb Dean to wave it off.

The defeat was Hardwick’s first in almost five years.

Elsewhere, Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Sam Patterson turned away onetime Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Trey Waters with punches in the first round of their welterweight tilt. An emerging threat at 170 pounds, Patterson (14-2-1, 4-1 UFC) drew the curtain 3:01 into Round 1.

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Waters (9-2, 2-1 UFC) tried but ultimately failed to keep the Team Crossface export at bay with stiff jabs and stinging leg kicks. Patterson stepped into a crushing one-two that set the American on unsteady legs midway through the round, swarmed with punches and connected with multiple right hands, the last of which prompted the stoppage.

It was the eighth first-round finish of Patterson’s career.

Not to be overshadowed, former Fight Exclusive Night champion Robert Bryczek took out “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 semifinalist Brad Tavares with punches in the third round of their middleweight scrap. The traditionally durable Tavares (21-11, 16-11 UFC) succumbed to blows 1:43 into Round 3.

The 35-year-old Bryczek (18-6, 1-1 UFC) nearly finished the Hawaiian twice in the first round, where he blitzed the Xtreme Couture mainstay with power punches to the body and head. He eased his foot off the gas in the middle stanza, perhaps to recharge, and allowed Tavares to gain a foothold in the match with a series of leg kicks and clean one-twos. Bryczek was undeterred. He stepped up his pursuit again in the third, pinned Tavares to the fence with punches, drove him to his knees and let fly with rapid-fire hammerfists until referee Lukasz Bosacki had seen enough.

Bryczek has won six of his past seven bouts.

Deeper into the prelims, American Top Team’s Rinat Fakhretdinov disposed of Andreas Gustafsson with punches in the first round of their welterweight affair. One of the company’s best-kept secrets at 170 pounds, Fakhretdinov (24-1-1, 6-0-1 UFC) brought it to a close a mere 54 seconds into Round 1.

Gustafsson (12-3, 1-1 UFC) crashed forward recklessly, threw defense out the window and paid the price. Fakhretdinov cut off the Swede with dirty-boxing uppercuts and backed him up with two sharp jabs, then flurried with punches to the body and head. Gustafsson retreated to the cage, where he collapsed under a barrage of hammerfists from the ex-Gorilla Fighting Championships titleholder.

The setback snapped a four-fight winning streak for Gustafsson.

Finally, Fortis MMA rep Sam Hughes put away Shauna Bannon with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their women’s strawweight tilt. Finished for the first time as a pro, Bannon (7-2, 2-2 UFC) raised the white flag of surrender 1:58 into Round 2.

Hughes (11-6, 6-5 UFC) established her superiority inside the first five minutes, as she executed a takedown, twice advanced to a mounted crucifix and racked up points with elbow-laced ground-and-pound. She tripped Bannon to the floor in the middle stanza, progressed to side control and transitioned to the back, at which point she laced her arms in place for the fight-ending choke.

The 33-year-old Hughes has rattled off three straight victories.