Canada's Jourdain, Makdessi lose by decision as UFC holds first fight card in France

PARIS — Canadian featherweight Charles (Air) Jourdain lost a unanimous decision to England's Nathaniel (The Prospect) Wood on a UFC Fight Night card Saturday.

The judges scored it for 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for London's Wood after a tight fight contested in close quarters with both landing shots.

The show at Accor Arena was the UFC's first in France, which adopted regulations allowing MMA in January 2020. Former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre of Montreal was cageside for the event.

Earlier, veteran Montreal lightweight John (The Bull) Makdessi lost a unanimous decision to German-born Moroccan Nasrat Haqparast in a battle of former teammates at Montreal's renowned Tristar Gym.

The judges scored it 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for Haqparast after a bout contested almost entirely on the feet. Makdessi, awarded the first round by one of the judges, nodded and applauded as the decision was announced.

France's Ciryl (Bon Gamin) Gane (11-1-0), a former interim heavyweight champion, stopped Australian Tai (Bam Bam) Tuivasa (15-4-0) in the third round of a main event slugfest. Gane is ranked No. 1 among heavyweight contenders compared to No. 3 for the hard-hitting Tuivasa, who came into the fight with 11 first-round finishes.

Tuivasa almost knocked Gane out in the second round but the French fighter somehow survived to punish Tuivasa with a string of body shots. Gane, a chiselled 247 pounds, repeatedly targeted the 266-pound Tuivasa's soft midriff before felling him with a string of punches at four minutes 23 seconds of the round.

In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Robert (The Reaper) Whittaker (24-6-0) won a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) decision over Marvin (The Italian Dream) Vettori.