Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Thiago Moises UFC Paris Odds, Time, and Prediction

Benoit Saint-Denis is a former French commando who’s got a 100% finish rate since the start of his MMA career. Most of his finishes happened via submission, but it’s going to be hard to do the same this time. It’s because the Frenchman is taking on Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Thiago Moises.

*Odds taken from BetUS on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

When, Where, and How to Watch?

• Place: Accor Arena in Paris, France
• Date: Saturday, September 2
• Time: ~2:00 p.m. ET
• How to Watch: ESPN+

Benoit Saint-Denis Preparing Another Finish

Benoit Saint-Denis is 11-1-1 overall, with his only loss happening to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. The Frenchman lost by decision, but that fight was somewhat controversial. First of all, Saint-Denis got kicked in the groin by his opponent, which must’ve had an impact on his performance. Further, it was later revealed that dos Santos was using a banned substance.

When it comes to Saint-Denis’s no contest, it happened in the early days of his career when he and his opponent clashed heads by accident. This guy is without a loss inside the distance, but all of his 11 wins happened this way. Two happened by knockout/technical knockout, while the remaining nine were submission wins.

Saint-Denis has been making 3.80 takedowns per fight in the UFC, which is evidence not only of his skills but also of his strength. He also lands 4.11 significant strikes per minute and gets hit 6.14 times. But he obviously doesn’t mind getting hit as he’s never been knocked out or even knocked down in his UFC career.

Thiago Moses Does Have Some Advantages Over His French Rival

Thiago Moses is 17-6 with just under 50% of his wins happening by submission. This is no surprise as he’s a BJJ black belt. You may argue that he’s better on the floor than Saint-Denis, the proof being that he’s defeated some really decent grapplers/wrestlers by this method – Bobby Green, Alexander Hernandez, Christos Giagos, and so on.

He also fought Islam Makhachev once and lost only after 17 minutes and 38 seconds. Moses took down his Dagestani rival once and even attempted a submission, but it failed. Then, it went just the opposite – Makhachev beat him with a rear naked choke.

It remains his only loss by submission, and only his second by a finish (the other one was a TKO loss to Joel Alvarez). All the other of his defeats happened by decision.   

Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Thiago Moises Prediction

Benoit Saint-Denis is bigger and stronger than Thiago Moses. He’s also a much better striker and is even a better wrestler. Moses, however, is probably a more technical grappler, so we’re not sure if the French fighter is actually going to be able to finish him. But we do think Saint-Denis will triumph in the end whether by another finish or decision.

Pick: Benoit Saint-Denis to win