Modestas Bukauskas Stops Oumar Sy by Second-Round TKO at UFC Paris
Modestas Bukauskas stopped Oumar Sy by second-round TKO at UFC Paris on Saturday, quieting a home crowd that had come to see the French light heavyweight win. Referee Jason Herzog waved it off at 3:57 of Round 2 after a knee put Sy on the canvas and follow-up punches ended the fight.
The finish came on the prelims of UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs. Parnasse at Accor Arena. Bukauskas entered 20-7 and 8-5 in the UFC. Sy came in 12-2 and 3-2 inside the Octagon.
Bukauskas, 32, is a Lithuanian-British fighter from Klaipeda known as The Baltic Gladiator. He is a former two-time Cage Warriors light heavyweight champion and had won five of his previous six bouts.
His last trip to Paris ended with a knockout. He dropped Paul Craig with an elbow at the bell of Round 1 at UFC Fight Night 258 on Sept. 6, 2025.
A setback followed in January, when Nikita Krylov knocked him out with three seconds left in Round 3 at UFC 324. Bukauskas then beat Christian Edwards by split decision on May 16.
Sy, 30, was fighting in his hometown. The 6-foot-4 Frenchman owns an 83-inch reach and had never been finished by strikes.
He last fought on March 14, when Ion Cutelaba submitted him with a guillotine at 4:24 of Round 1. Before that, Sy stopped Brendson Ribeiro by TKO in Round 1 at last year’s UFC Paris card.
The betting line had Sy as the favorite in front of a French crowd. Bukauskas was the underdog on the road at 205 pounds.
Round 1 belonged to Sy. He put Bukauskas on his back, worked from top position, and came close to a ground-and-pound stoppage before the Lithuanian survived to the horn.
Bukauskas came out of the corner for Round 2 with damage under his right eye. Sy immediately took him down again and passed to side control.
Bukauskas used a leg-lock attempt to stand, only for Sy to trip him back down. Another takedown followed, but this time Bukauskas reversed into side control and landed elbows.
He then got behind Sy and scored with punches as the Frenchman returned to his feet. After an exchange, Bukauskas mixed in a knee and sprawled on a takedown attempt.
A second knee sat Sy down. Bukauskas swarmed with punches until Herzog stepped in at 3:57 of Round 2.
The official result was a TKO by knee and punches. Bukauskas is now 21-7 overall and 9-5 in the UFC, with 12 wins by knockout or TKO.
Sy falls to 12-3 and 3-3 in the promotion. It was the first strike finish of his career.
The stoppage was the second French loss of the night after Michael Aljarouj dropped a unanimous decision to Fabia Sintes. Delphine Benouaich, Matthieu Duclos, and Nora Cornolle had won earlier on the Paris prelims.
A TKO of an unranked home fighter will not by itself put Bukauskas into the official UFC light heavyweight rankings. It does give him a road finish in a hostile building and a ninth UFC win at 205 pounds.