Parnasse crushes Hooker in 1st round of UFC Paris main event

PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 05: Salahdine Parnasse of France battles Dan Hooker of New Zealand in their middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at The Accor Arena on September 05, 2026 in Paris, France.

Jeff Bottari / UFC / Getty

Former KSW two-division champion Salahdine Parnasse made a huge statement in his UFC debut.

Parnasse knocked out Dan Hooker at the 2:35 mark of the first round in the UFC Paris main event Saturday at Accor Arena.

Parnasse, a lightweight from Aubervilliers, France, hurt Hooker with a body kick and then closed the show with a glancing head kick and a brutal left hook.

SALAHDINE PARNASSE JUST WIPED OUT DAN HOOKER IN 1 ROUND WITH A LIVER KICK 🇫🇷

WOW pic.twitter.com/M6aG9DmXZP
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) September 5, 2026

Parnasse's debut was one of the most anticipated in recent memory, and he passed the test with flying colors. He signed with the UFC earlier this year after scoring a first-round TKO win on the Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano undercard in May on Netflix.

The victory over Hooker lifted the 28-year-old Frenchman's professional record to 24-2. He's riding a six-fight winning streak and hasn't lost since 2023.

In his postfight interview, Parnasse called out former featherweight champion Max Holloway.

Hooker, a 36-year-old from Auckland, New Zealand, has lost three in a row. He was coming off back-to-back stoppage defeats to Benoit Saint Denis and Arman Tsarukyan. Hooker's most recent victory came against Mateusz Gamrot in August 2024.