Saturday's UFC Fight Night in Paris was a perfect opportunity for Salahdine Parnasse to make a statement -- and he fully took advantage of it.
Parnasse (24-2) knocked out Dan Hooker (24-15) with a body kick and left hooks at the 2:35 mark of the opening round, in the main event of UFC Fight Night inside Accor Arena. The victory came in Parnasse's long-awaited UFC debut. The 28-year-old Frenchman has won multiple titles in Europe and entered the UFC having won 10 of his last 11 fights.
"I'm the best fighter in the world," Parnasse said. "I knew I was going to finish the fight. I finish all of my fights by knockout, so I knew I was going to come in and do exactly that."
When asked whom he wanted to fight in his second UFC appearance, Parnasse called for a top-five opponent -- and specifically a "dream fight" against former featherweight champion Max Holloway.
Parnasse, of Aubervilliers, France, went into Saturday a heavy betting favorite, but it was nevertheless a high-pressure spot, headlining a UFC event in Paris in his promotional debut.
He looked right at home in his first appearance in the UFC's Octagon, however, as he walked Hooker back with leg kicks and lightning-fast combinations on the feet. Hooker, who went into the contest as the UFC's No. 10-ranked lightweight, did not attempt a single takedown, and ultimately could not keep up with Parnasse on the feet. Parnasse hurt Hooker with a left kick to the liver around the two-minute mark and followed with a series of left hands against the fence to put him down.
It's the fifth knockout loss of Hooker's career and marks the third time he has been finished in three consecutive appearances. The losses have at least come against top competition, in Parnasse, Benoit Saint-Denis and Arman Tsarukyan.