The Fight Brief

Oumar Sy vs. Modestas Bukauskas

UFC Fight Night · September 5, 2026 · Accor Arena · Main Card 3:00 PM ET

The brief

What kind of fight
Striker vs. Striker
Finish likelihood
High
The line
No line posted yet
The stakes
Light Heavyweight · Main Card

The read

Sy is the better finisher on paper, but his own recent knockout loss raises real questions about his durability against a hard-hitting opponent like Bukauskas.

Bukauskas has been finished five times in his career, giving Sy a path if he can find his shots early. Expect a high-paced standup battle where whoever lands first and cleanest likely closes the show.

A homecoming knockout for Sy is the crowd's dream outcome, but Bukauskas's power and experience make this a genuine coin flip.

The matchup

Oumar Sy
Explosive Finisher
KO Power · Submissions · Aggressive
GrapplingStriking
Modestas Bukauskas
Kickboxing Brawler
Kickboxing · KO Power · Durability
GrapplingStriking

This is a striker-heavy collision between two knockout artists on opposite trajectories heading into a hostile French crowd.

Sy has been finished for the first time in his career and needs to prove his chin and composure hold up under pressure, while Bukauskas is coming off a bounce-back win after his own recent knockout loss to Nikita Krylov.

Sy's reach advantage and aggressive finishing instincts are real threats, but Bukauskas's kickboxing pedigree and switch-stance versatility make him a live danger at range.

Tale of the tape

12-2Record20-7
30Age32
6'4"Height6'3"
83"Reach78"
OrthodoxStanceSwitch
FranceCountryLithuania
Bulgarian Top TeamTeamGintas Combat

The numbers

Career UFC averages. Red bar = statistical edge.

Oumar SyModestas Bukauskas
Sig. strikes landed / min (volume)
Striking accuracy (precision)
Sig. strikes absorbed / min (lower is better)
Striking defense (strikes avoided)
Takedowns / 15 min (wrestling offense)
Takedown accuracy
Takedown defense
Submission attempts / 15 min

The fighters

Oumar Sy 12-2

Oumar Sy is a Paris-born light heavyweight who won his first two UFC fights before a rocky stretch tested his ascent. He finishes at a high rate, with nine of his twelve career wins coming by knockout or submission, showcasing power and craft in equal measure. A decision loss to Alonzo Menifield and, more recently, a first-round guillotine loss to Ion Cutelaba have stalled his early momentum. Now he returns to the Accor Arena, a venue he has never lost at, looking to reset in front of a home crowd.

How they win
5 KO/TKO4 SUB3 DEC
How they lose
0 KO/TKO1 SUB1 DEC
Last 3 fights
  • LIon Cutelaba · Submission (guillotine choke)UFC Fight Night 269 · March 14, 2026
  • WBrendson Ribeiro · TKO (punches)UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs. Borralho · September 6, 2025
  • LAlonzo Menifield · Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night · June 14, 2025

Full Sy profile →

Modestas Bukauskas 20-7

The Baltic Gladiator

Modestas Bukauskas is a Lithuanian light heavyweight and former two-time Cage Warriors champion who built his base as a four-time British kickboxing champion. Eleven of his twenty career wins have come by knockout, and he has proven durable enough to survive rocky stretches and rebuild. A four-fight win streak was snapped by a TKO loss to Nikita Krylov at UFC 324, but he answered immediately with a split-decision win over late-replacement Christian Edwards in May 2026. He now looks to spoil Sy's homecoming and push back toward the light heavyweight top 15.

How they win
11 KO/TKO3 SUB6 DEC
How they lose
5 KO/TKO1 SUB1 DEC
Last 3 fights
  • WChristian Edwards · Decision (split)UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Costa · May 16, 2026
  • LNikita Krylov · KO/TKOUFC 324 · January 24, 2026
  • WPaul Craig · KO/TKOUFC Fight Night · September 6, 2025

Full Bukauskas profile →