Two thrilling Lightweight contests have been added to UFC Paris, ahead of the promotion’s return to France on September 28.
Bolaji Oki will face ‘The Problem’ Chris Duncan in a Dana White Contender Series alumni bout as L’udovit Klein returns to the octagon for the third time in 2024 in a 155lbs contest against Nikolas Motta.
After losing his professional debut, Oki has made sure he has not felt that feeling again and enters the Duncan bout on a 9-fight win streak, with six of those wins coming by way of stoppage. Oki earned his UFC contract in devastating fashion when he defeated Dylan Salvador on Season 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series with a series of brutal punches and knees. Since signing with the promotion, ‘The Zulu Warrior’ has made the walk to the octagon once and claimed a unanimous decision win against Timmy Cuamba.
Chris Duncan’s first shot at signing with the UFC came in 2021 when he faced Viacheslav Borshchev on Dana White’s Contender Series. For the first time in his career, ‘The Problem’ was handed a loss and rendered unconscious in the second round of the bout. The Scotsman returned to the Contender Series the next year and took on Charlie Campbell. The bout immediately got off to a fascinating start with both men swinging on each other and it was Campbell who struck cleanest, severely rocking Duncan. Clearly hurt, ‘The Problem’ threw an all or nothing strike which landed flush and in one of the greatest comebacks in Contender Series history, Duncan earned his shot with the UFC.
After back to back decision wins against Omar Morales and Yanal Ashmouz in his first two bouts, Duncan faced the promotionally unbeaten Daniel Torres earlier this year. ‘El Loco’ continued his insane run of first round finishes and tied up a rear naked choke to force the tap from Duncan.
For Klein, UFC Paris bout will see him compete inside the octagon for the 10th time. The Slovakian currently holds a 6-2-1 record and will be hoping that a big performance can propel him closer to a spot in the rankings. With three bouts in 2024, the calendar year will mark Klein’s most active since signing with the promotion.
Motta will be hoping he can pick up his first consecutive wins inside the octagon. After a unanimous decision was enough for him to earn a contract on the 2020 season of the Contender Series, ‘Iron’ would have to wait almost 15 months for his promotional debut. When it did roll around, Motta faced the formidable Jim Miller, who handed the Brazilian his first defeat in four years with a second round stoppage. His first UFC win came seven months later when he stopped Cameron VanCamp in the very first round of their contest. 2023 saw Motta pick up a loss to Manuel Torres before a no contest against Trey Ogden due to a premature stoppage.
The 31-year-old kicked off 2024 with an impressive win against the then undefeated Tom Nolan. A win against Klein will be his biggest to date and move him into facing those just outside of the rankings at 155lbs.
