Farès Ziam

Farès Ziam (born March 21, 1997) is a French professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Background Born into a Franco-Algerian family in 1997, he was a fan of mixed martial arts and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It was a family affair, with everyone involved in combat sports. His father, Taïeb, who was a former pro boxer that hung up his gloves in the 2000s, has of course had something to do with it. His stepfather did Brazilian jiu-jitsu while his two brothers did Muay Thai. At 12, Ziam began practicing combat sports with full contact. At 13, he began doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and MMA once or twice a week. Starting at 14, he did judo, BJJ and kickboxing for three years, he then joined the Ezbiri team in Villeurbanne to do MMA professionally.

Kickboxing career On June 13, 2015, Ziam defeated Tom Pedereno by technical knockout at Sanda Pro Fight Tour #1.

On October 13, 2015, Ziam faced Yazid Boussaha for the vacant ISKA K-1 European 72.5kg title. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

On April 8, 2016, Ziam faced Igor Kozak at Fight Night ONE. He won the fight by second round doctor stoppage.

On October 28, 2017, Ziam made his Glory promotional debut at Glory 47 against Mohamed Souane. The fight was declared a draw after three rounds.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Starting his professional MMA career in 2014, Ziam compiled a 10–2 record fighting mostly in the regional European scene, winning the HIT and LFC lightweight championships in the process.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Ziam, as a replacement for Magomed Mustafaev, made his promotional debut against Don Madge on September 7, 2019, at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Ziam lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Ziam faced Jamie Mullarkey at UFC Fight Night 180 on October 18, 2020. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ziam faced Luigi Vendramini on June 12, 2021, at UFC 263. He won the fight via majority decision.

As the last fight of his prevailing contract, Ziam was scheduled to face Terrance McKinney on November 20, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 198. However, one of McKinney's cornermen got COVID-19 the day of the bout and it was scrapped. The pairing was rescheduled and eventually took place at UFC Fight Night 202 on February 26, 2022. Ziam lost the bout via first round rear-naked choke.

UFC opted not to renew his contract for a while, but eventually Ziam faced Michal Figlak on September 3, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 209 as the first bout of his new contract. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ziam faced Jai Herbert on July 22, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 224. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ziam faced Claudio Puelles on February 24, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 237. Despite being taken down seven times, Ziam won the bout by split decision after landing more strikes.

As the first bout of his new four-fight contract, Ziam faced Matt Frevola on September 28, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 243. He won the fight by knockout in the third round after delivering a knee to the face of his opponent. This fight earned him his first Performance of the Night award.

Ziam faced Mike Davis on February 1, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 250. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Ziam was scheduled to face Kauê Fernandes on September 6, 2025, at UFC Fight Night 258. However, he withdrew from the bout for personal reasons following the death of his grandmother.

Ziam faced Nazim Sadykhov on December 6, 2025 at UFC 323. He won the fight by technical knockout via punches and elbows in the second round.

Ziam faced Tom Nolan on June 6, 2026 at UFC Fight Night 278. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Ziam faced Axel Sola on September 5, 2026 at UFC Fight Night 287. He lost the fight by knockout in the first round.

Personal life Ziam and his wife have a son (born 2024).

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance of the Night (One time) HIT Fighting Championship HIT Lightweight Championship (one time) Lyon Fighting Championship LFC Lightweight Championship (one time) MMAjunkie.com 2024 September Knockout of the Month vs. Matt Frevola

Kickboxing International Sport Kickboxing Association 2015 ISKA K-1 European Light-middleweight (-72.5kg) Champion

Mixed martial arts record

|Win |align=center|18–4 |Nazim Sadykhov |TKO (elbows and punches) |UFC 323 | |align=center|2 |align=center|4:59 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

|Win |align=center|12–3 |Luigi Vendramini |Decision (majority) |UFC 263 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Glendale, Arizona, United States

Kickboxing record

|- bgcolor="#c5d2ea" | 2017-10-28 || Draw ||align=left| Mohamed Souane || Glory 47: Lyon || Lyon, France || Decision || 3 || 3:00

|- bgcolor="#cfc" | 2017-05-06 || Win ||align=left| Yoan Benbedra || Takedown FC 1|| Tarare, France || TKO (retirement) || 3 ||

|- bgcolor="#cfc" | 2016-04-08 || Win ||align=left| Igor Kozak || Fight Night 1 || Saint-Étienne, France || TKO (Doctor stoppage) || 2 ||

|- bgcolor="#cfc" | 2015-10-03 || Win ||align=left| Yazid Boussaha || Boxe || Calvi, France || Decision (Unanimous) || 5 || 3:00 |- ! style=background:white colspan=9 |

|- bgcolor="#cfc" | 2015 || Win ||align=left| Tom Pedreno || Sanda Pro Fight Tour || Tarare, France || TKO || || |- | colspan=9 | Legend:

See also List of male mixed martial artists

References

External links

Farès Ziam

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