You only get one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut!
Seven rookies stepped into the Octagon yesterday (Sat., Sept 5, 2026) at UFC Paris inside Accor Arena in Paris, France. Collectively, the newcomers went 5-2, with some absolutely awesome performances.
Like this.
Now that the dust has settled, let’s grade their respective performances below:
Salahdine Parnasse
Salahdine Parnasse made his highly anticipated debut and looked every bit like the elite acquisition UFC advertised. The former KSW champion remained composed
during the early feeling-out process, exchanging kicks with Dan Hooker and occasionally exploding forward with fast combinations. Just over two minutes into the fight, Parnasse buried a perfectly placed kick into Hooker’s liver, immediately folding the durable veteran. He followed with a glancing head kick and a barrage of punches along the fence until the referee intervened at 2:35 (watch highlights).
Hooker offered almost no resistance once Parnasse found his opening, but dismantling a proven Lightweight in your UFC debut—and doing it that effortlessly—was still an enormous statement.
Parnasse is the real deal and will be an elite Lightweight contender for years to come and might even hold UFC gold. He’s extremely well-rounded in every aspect of MMA and is a finisher.
He called for a fight with Max Holloway, but I don’t think he’ll get that fight. I’m tempted to throw someone like Quillan Salkilld — instead, he can fight another red-hot Aussie, Tom Nolan.
Final grade: A+
Pavel Andrusca
On just five days’ notice, Pavel Andrusca stepped up to take one of the most underrated fighters on the roster and made him look ordinary.
Andrusca immediately troubled Nathaniel Wood with his explosiveness, landing straight right hands, knees, elbows, and an early takedown to claim the opening round. Wood dropped him with a heavy right hand in the second, but Andrusca recovered intelligently by wrestling and briefly threatening an arm-triangle choke. Wood probably still won that round, but Andrusca decisively reclaimed control in the third. He pressured Wood, roughed him up with short strikes in the clinch, opened a cut, and secured another late takedown. The official scores—30-27, 30-27, and 29-28—were wider than the fight felt, but Andrusca was the rightful winner. Beating a ranked, experienced opponent under those circumstances was tremendous — even more impressive is that Andrusca fights at Bantamweight.
Andrusca is an excellent signing and should have a lot of success.
I’d like to see him fight Santiago Luna next.
Final grade: A
Fabia Sintes & Michael Aljarouj
Two rookies, Fabia Sintes and Michael Aljarouj, went at it on the prelims, but I have to be honest, I thought this was boring and unimpressive.
Aljarouj had a promising start but gassed out after five minutes, and Sintes made the necessary adjustments after losing the opening round. Aljarouj started well with leg kicks, movement, and solid defensive grappling, while Sintes struggled to establish control. That changed late in the second when Sintes converted a single-leg takedown, advanced to mount, and unloaded with punches and damaging elbows before threatening a mounted guillotine. He quickly grounded Aljarouj again in the third, remained heavy from top position, and neutralized several leg-lock attempts while mixing in elbows and choke threats. Aljarouj reversed him late, but did little with the position.
In a Flyweight division that is on fire right now, I don’t know where these two fit.
Aljarouj can fight Alibi Idiris, when he gets unsuspended, while Sintes can fight Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
Sintes final grade: C
Aljarouj final grade: D
Matthieu Duclos
After getting knocked out on Season 8 of Contender Series, Matthieu Duclos rattled off four wins to get the call from the UFC — and he delivered a nasty knockout.
It was not flawless, but Duclos delivered when it mattered. Luis Felipe Dias was the more effective fighter for much of the opening round, pressuring Duclos, attacking his body with powerful kicks and hurting him with a short left hand. Duclos remained patient behind his jab and continued looking for counters despite being forced backward. When Dias charged forward again late in the round, Duclos timed him with a beautiful check left hook that immediately dropped the Brazilian. He followed with hammerfists to secure the stoppage (watch highlights).
Duclos showed some defensive vulnerabilities and absorbed too much early damage, but his composure and counterpunching produced a spectacular comeback finish.
Despite being outmatched early, Duclos should have a fun UFC career.
He can fight Mansur Abdul-Malik next.
Final grade: A-
Delphine Benouaich & Sofia Montenegro
Perhaps the most impressive performance because it was so unexpected was French fighter and TUF 34 veteran Delphine Benouaich, who turned her debut into controlled violence. She pushed a furious pace from the opening bell, consistently beating Sofia Montenegro with three-, four-, and five-punch combinations while mixing in uppercuts, body shots, and inside leg kicks. Montenegro landed enough counters to show that Benouaich’s aggressive style carries some defensive risk, but she could not match the Frenchwoman’s volume. In the second round, Benouaich dropped Montenegro with a crushing right hand, advanced to mount, and opened a gruesome cut with punches and elbows. When Montenegro turned away from the punishment, Benouaich took her back and applied a rear-naked choke that rendered her unconscious (watch highlights).
It was a violent, comprehensive debut, and she put the division on notice. She was another TUF 34 fighter who got signed straight off the show — before the finale has even taken place — and it was a good decision because she’s awesome, especially in a time when women’s MMA is being watched under a microscope.
I would give Benouaich former title challenger Amanda Lemos in her second outing.
Final grade: A+
As for Montenegro, she just ran into a better striker but proved she’s down to throw down — which is why she got signed off a loss on Contender Series.
What about Alice Ardelean for her second UFC fight?
Final grade: C
For complete UFC Paris results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
