Fares Ziam

Overview

Six of his eight UFC wins went to the scorecards, and the two exceptions both came late. Fares Ziam is a French lightweight who owns a UFC record of 8-4, and he has built it by outlasting people more than by ending them.

His best stretch was a six-fight winning streak that ran from October 2020 through September 2024 and December 2025, with the losses on either side of it. He carries a different run into his next fight: two straight losses, the most recent a first-round knockout.

UFC Career

Ziam debuted at UFC 242 in September 2019 and lost a unanimous decision to Don Madge. He answered with back-to-back decision wins over Jamie Mullarkey and Luigi Vendramini, the second of them a majority call.

Terrance McKinney ended that run in February 2022, submitting him in the first round at 2:11. It remains his only submission loss and his quickest night in the UFC until the most recent one.

Then came the rebuild. Decisions over Michal Figlak and Jai Herbert, a split decision over Claudio Puelles, and in September 2024 a third-round TKO of Matt Frevola at 2:59. A UFC Fight Night win over Mike Davis in February 2025 and a second-round TKO of Nazim Sadykhov at UFC 323 (4:59 of round two) stretched the streak to six. Sadykhov is rated "strong" by our model.

The streak ended against another strong opponent, Tom Nolan, who took a unanimous decision in June 2026. Axel Sola then stopped Ziam in the first round at 1:40 that September.

That is a 6-1 stretch followed by two losses, and the second one was ugly.

Fighting Style

Fares Ziam is a defender first. He is hard to hit and hard to take down, and he gets hit far less often than most UFC fighters. When he does throw, he is accurate, but he is not a high-volume striker and lands fewer strikes per minute than most.

He is not passive when it comes to wrestling. He shoots for takedowns more than the UFC average, but he rarely hunts for submissions once the fight hits the mat.

His results fit that profile. Six of his eight UFC wins came by decision, and the other two were TKOs, one in round two and one in round three. He has no submission wins and no first-round finishes.

One correction to the earlier version: his stoppage losses were not both in round one. He has been finished once by knockout or TKO and once by submission, along with two decision losses.

Notable Wins

• Matt Frevola — KO/TKO, round 3 (2:59), UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Saint Denis (2024)
• Nazim Sadykhov — KO/TKO, round 2 (4:59), UFC 323 (2025)
• Claudio Puelles — split decision, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 (2024)
• Jai Herbert — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura (2023)

Quick Facts

• Division: Lightweight
• UFC record: 8-4 (2 KO/TKO, 6 decisions)
• Professional record (all promotions): 18-6-0
• UFC debut: September 2019
• Stance: Orthodox
• Reach: 75"; height: 6'1"
• Team: Dominance MMA, Onx Labs
• Born: Vénissieux, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France