UFC Paris results: Benoit Saint Denis snags face crank submission of Mauricio Ruffy |

06/09/2025 23:40 -

Benoit Saint Denis put on a show in his home country.

"God of War" scored his second straight win with a smothering face crank submission of Mauricio Ruffy to have his hand raised in Saturday's UFC Paris main event. The Frenchman used a wrestling-heavy attack to neutralize Ruffy's dangerous striking and paid off with a second-round finish.

Watch Saint Denis' winning submission below.

From the opening bell, Saint Denis imposed his will on the fight, needing less than 30 seconds to take Ruffy down and test the Brazilian's grappling defense. Ruffy was able to survive full mount and even brought the fight back to the feet, but it wasn't long before Saint Denis tackled him to the mat again. A low blow to Ruffy brought a brief pause to the action, but had little effect on the fight overall as Saint Denis ended the round up on the scorecards.

In Round 2, Ruffy had some success on the feet, landing a jumping knee and scoring with punches when he could keep his distance. However, Saint Denis continually pushed Ruffy back to the fence where Ruffy was unable to stop Saint Denis from dragging the fight back to the canvas. Saint Denis wore Ruffy down, eventually taking his back and locking in the face crank that forced Ruffy to tap at the 2:56 mark of Round 2.

Afterwards, Saint Denis said he was open to stepping back into the cage on short notice in the coming months if a top 10 lightweight is in need of an opponent.

Saint Denis (15-3, 1 NC) has won two straight fights following the first consecutive losses of his career. His UFC record stands at 7-3 with all of his wins coming by way of knockout or submission.

Ruffy (12-2) suffers his first UFC loss after winning three straight fights in the promotion.