Oumar
Sy wanted to give French fans a stoppage win to celebrate,
resulting in his loss.
Sy was a -210 favorite going into his
Ultimate Fighting Championship clash against Modestas
Bukauskas in front of a home crowd at
UFC Paris. He now admits that chasing the finish led to his
defeat.
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Oumar Sy says pursuing a stoppage against Modestas Bukauskas
contributed to his UFC Paris defeat
Sy dominated Bukauskas in the first round, landing brutal elbows
towards the end of the round with referee Jason Herzog watching
very closely. Bukauskas was barely saved by the bell, with Herzog
warning him to defend himself. While Sy started the second round
with the same dominance, Bukauskas was able to return to his feet
and defend a desperate takedown attempt. Bukauskas then dropped Sy
with a knee and rained vicious follow-up shots to earn a shocking
upset win.
Sy apologized to his fans, whom he wanted to give a stoppage win.
However, he assures that the loss won’t deter him from pursuing his
goals and that he will only bounce back stronger.
“To those of you who support me in victory and defeat alike, I want
to offer my apologies,” Sy wrote on Instagram. “I wanted to give
you a win; I wanted to secure the finish and leave the cage with a
positive result. MMA isn’t just a sport to me. It’s my life. It
involves sacrifices, doubts, pain, giving things up, and
battles—but I chose this life. I will always give my all to achieve
my goals. This loss changes nothing regarding my intentions or what
I am willing to do to keep moving forward. The journey continues.
This loss is part of my story, but it will never define what comes
next. We will come back better and stronger than before.”
While Sy (12-3) was a highly touted undefeated prospect when he
joined the UFC in 2024, he has gone 3-3 in the promotion. This was
Sy’s second consecutive stoppage loss, following a submission
defeat to Ion
Cutelaba this past March.