Delphine Benouaich, France, 7-2
Pros:
-Nasty clinch knees
-Good cardio
-Throws in volume
-Solid clinch work
-Good bodywork/body-head
-Durable/Good chin
Cons:
-Lacks head movement
-Advances in straight lines
-TDD needs work
Benouaich has been a freight train over the last few years. By that, I mean her activity level, fighting ten times in 2023 and six times in 2024. She has yet to fight this year, but she fought three more times last year, so ring rust shouldn’t be a concern.
There’s probably nobody in the TUF house better suited for a tournament format than Benouaich. She’s a bit rough around the edges, but is always a game opponent. I’d label her a Muay Thai fighter through and through, as she’s someone who needs to fight on the inside. She’s capable of fighting at range, but she has more trouble finding her accuracy. Plus, her defense isn’t particularly good, and that tends to get exposed against faster fighters.
Offensively, Benouaich is a nasty striker when she’s in range. She uses brutal elbows and knees in the Thai clinch and typically throws combinations in twos while working in the pocket. She can go body-to-head, has a sneaky good uppercut, and her right hand carries some pop.
The problem is that while she wants to fight a gritty fight, she lacks the physicality to do so consistently. Benouaich does some good things in cage wrestling, but she struggles defending takedowns at range and against prolonged wrestling attempts. She makes some of the right moves to get back to her feet, but will give up her back and lose minutes in the process.
I don’t expect Benouaich to win the tournament, but she can definitely get into some fun scraps with the right opponent. I’ll also say I do see her as UFC level right now, despite her performance.
