UFC President Dana White announced on social media on Wednesday, August 7, that the organization will return to the Accor Arena in Paris, France on September 28.

There are no championship fights on the card, but the main and co-main event fights have high performance bonus potential and feature highly ranked fighters.

Here’s a look at White’s announcement.

In the main event, lightweight No. 10 Renato Moicano will face Benoit Saint-Denis of France. The latter is ranked No. 12 at lightweight and will be fighting in his home country in front of a large crowd at the Accor Arena.

In the co-main event, No. 4 Nassourdine Imavov will face No. 6 Brendan Allen in a fight that could earn the winner a title shot in 2025.

Saint-Denis delivered a Fight of the Night performance in a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 299 in March.

The loss snapped a five-fight winning streak for the 28-year-old from Nimes, with finishes in each of those victories. A win over Moicano would put Saint-Denis back on the right track and allow him to challenge a Top 5 contender at some point in 2025. Moicano has his own plans for the climb.

He has won three straight fights and five of his last six. The outspoken and entertaining Brazilian is now 35 years old. If he is going to make a serious push for the lightweight title, he probably can’t afford another loss. Given his age and the competitive nature of the lightweight division right now, the fight feels like a must-win for Moicano.

While the Imavov-Allen fight is in the co-main event slot, you could argue that has more immediate title implications than Moicano-Saint-Denis. Imavov may be as close to a win for a plausible title fight as anyone in the middleweight division.

Beating Allen would improve Imavov’s record in the UFC to 7-2, with wins over three Top 10 opponents, including a controversial stoppage victory over Jared Cannonier in June. At the very least, a win over Allen should earn Imavov a fight with the loser of the Israel Adesanya-Dricus Du Plessis title bout at UFC 305.

Victory likely won’t come easy, as Allen is one of the most experienced fighters in the middleweight division. He has 28 professional fights, 24 wins, and a 12-2 record in the UFC. Allen is currently on a seven-fight win streak, most recently coming off a rematch win over Chris Curtis.

Allen won a narrow split decision over Curtis in their second encounter after Curtis won by knockout in their first encounter in December 2021. I expect a few more French fighters to be added to the card, as is customary when the UFC travels to different countries.

The event will take place on the same date and at almost the same time as the PFL European Playoffs. It is rare for the UFC and PFL to face each other on the same day and in the same time zone.

Here is the UFC’s upcoming events schedule:

• UFC Fight Night: Marcin Tybura vs. Sergei Spivac August 2 – 10 – UFC Apex
• UFC 305: Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya – Aug 17 – RAC Arena, Perth, Australia
• UFC on ESPN: Jared Cannonier vs. Caio Borralho – August 24 – UFC Apex
• UFC Fight Night: Gilbert Burns vs. Sean Brady – September 7 – UFC Apex
• Riyadh Season Presents: Noche UFC 306: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili – 14 Sep – The Sphere, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• UFC Fight Night: Renato Moicano vs Benoit Saint Denis – Sep 28 – Accor Arena, Paris, France
• UFC 307 – October 5 – Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
• UFC Fight Night 244 – October 12
• UFC Fight Night 245 – October 19 – UFC Apex, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – October 26 – Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• UFC Fight Night 246 – November 2
• UFC Fight Night 247 – 9 Nov – UFC Apex, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – November 16 – Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA

Stay tuned to learn more about the card.