Guillaume MARION, Media365: published on Sunday, October 31, 2021 at 12:30 a.m.
Back in the ring, Lucie Bertaud, Koh Lanta finalist, was beaten in Paris, as was Benoît Saint-Denis in Abu Dhabi. On the other hand, Karl Amoussou won the title of world champion Hexagone MMA.
If Karl Amoussou can smile, this is not the case for Lucie Bertaud and Benoit Saint-Denis. At the Zénith de Paris, the first city shone by becoming the Hexagon MMA world champion in the under 77 kg category. Opposed to Brazilian Andre Ricardo Santos, the native of Draguignan was quick to win in the first round this Saturday. On the ground, a heel wrench allowed Amoussou to triumph over his opponent, forced to give up shortly before the end of the first round. On the other hand, for his UFC debut, Saint-Denis did not have the same success and was beaten by another Brazilian, namely Elizeu Dos Santos (29-26, 29-26, 29-26), in the preliminary card of event 267 in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). For his first in the octagon, the former member of the Special Forces (25) therefore suffered his first defeat after seven victories in his first fights. As a reminder, a duel between Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou is expected in January 2022.
Disappointment for Bertaud, draw for Blot
Back in the cage at the Zenith after a year of absence, Lucie Bertaud also lost this Saturday to a technical knockout, against the Venezuelan Karla Benitez. Finalist of “Koh-Lanta: The Secret Weapons” at the start of 2021, the Frenchwoman had nevertheless started well and had dominated the fight before a fatal blow in the third and final round. Victim of an elbow in the face and severely affected in the right eye, less than two minutes, the native of Thouars had to surrender. “She had the right strategy. (…) It’s linked to her experience, she still has 35 fights, I have five. So, it was ambitious as a basic challenge, but I believed in it. (…) After a while my eye started to close so I could only see one eye so it was a bit painful. (…) I love you and thank you very much for your support, in victory as in defeat, ”said Bertaud, at the end of his fight, at the microphone of RMC Sport. For her part, Laetitia Blot drew against Lithuanian Ernesta Kareckaite, also in Paris.
