The next event on the busy UFC schedule is UFC Paris, which takes place on Saturday, September 5 from Accor Arena in Paris, France. The event, which has 14 booked contests, features a headlining bout between Dan Hooker and Salahdine Parnasse. Hooker is making his 25th appearance under the UFC banner, while Parnasse makes his promotional debut. Below, we provide everything you need to know about this weekend’s fight card.
UFC Paris Main Card
Dan Hooker vs. Salahdine Parnasse
Fares Ziam vs. Axel Sola
Michael Page vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
Punahele Soriano vs. Daniil Donchenko
Morgan Charriere vs. Felipe Lima
Losene Keita vs. Muhammad Naimov
UFC Paris Preliminary Card
Mario Pinto vs. Ryan Spann
Kurtis Campbell vs. Trevor Peek
Oumar Sy vs. Modestas Bukauskas
Nathaniel Wood vs. Mairon Santos
Nora Cornolle vs. Klaudia Syguła
Fabia Sintes vs. Michael Aljarouj
Luis Felipe Dias vs. Matthieu Duclos
Delphine Benouaich vs. Sofia Montenegro
Dan Hooker vs. Salahdine Parnasse
Dan Hooker (24-14) was 10-4 in 2013 when he got the call to join the UFC. He faced the debuting Ian Entwistle in that contest, scoring a first-round knockout win in the featherweight contest.
A rocky two years followed that win, as Hooker went 2-3 over that span. A move to lightweight seemed to get things back on track for Hooker after that, as he put together a four-fight winning streak, beating notable names in Ross Pearson, Marc Diakiese, Jim Miller and Gilbert Burns.
That stretch of victories earned Hooker the No. 14 ranking in the 155-pound division against the No. 5 ranked Edson Barboza in the co-main event of a UFC on FOX card. Barboza ended Hooker’s winning streak with a first-round knockout.
Hooker bounced back from that defeat with wins over James Vick, Al Iaquinta, and Paul Felder, working himself up to No. 5 in the division. In 2020 he met Dustin Poirier, who was ranked No. 3 in a UFC Fight Night main event. Poirier won that five-round scrap by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-46).
Since that loss, the 36-year-old Hooker has been inconsistent, posting a 4-5 record. It should be noted his losses have come against tough competition in Michael Chandler, Islam Makhachev, Arnold Allen, Arman Tsarukyan, and Benoit Saint Denis.
Hooker is riding a two-fight losing skid into Saturday’s UFC Paris card. His most recent victory was his UFC 305 triumph over Mateusz Gamrot in a scrap that took home “Fight of the Night” honors.
Despite his struggles, Hooker is the No. 12 ranked fighter in the UFC’s lightweight division.
Salahdine Parnasse (23-2) signed with the UFC earlier this year after a lengthy run with KSW and a TKO win on the recent MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano fight card. Parnasse won the KSW featherweight title twice. He also served as the promotions’s lightweight champion from April 2024 through April 2026, defending that title four times with four knockout wins.
Earlier this summer, the 28-year-old told Ariel Helwani how his UFC deal came to be, “After my fight with MVP, the UFC contacted me, and it was an opportunity, it was really simple — it was to be part of this main event in my hometown in Paris. So it was a really good opportunity for me and I accepted.”
“This time, they offered me a really good opportunity. First of all, the deal was better [than last time], and they offered me the [chance] to be part of the rankings by taking a fight against Dan Hooker. So it is a really good opportunity for me to accept this challenge.”
“It’s a really good contract,” Parnasse added. “Fortunately, I have to prove that I deserve this and I am at the top level for my fans.”
His only loss in the past five years was a decision setback in 2023 when he challenged Adrian Bartosiński for the KSW welterweight crown. Parnasse has won his past five outings via knockout.
As of this writing, Parnasse is a substantial -600 betting favorite over the +425 Hooker.
We will have more on UFC Paris as fight night appoaches.
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