Fares Ziam has issued a statement after his upset loss to Tom Nolan on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 118 event.
Ziam entered his fight against Nolan as a -300 favorite, but the Frenchman lost the fight with three 29-28 scorecards going the other way for Nolan.
The loss for Ziam snapped his six-fight win streak, and it might cost him a spot in the top-15 UFC lightweight rankings, as Nolan was an unranked fighter heading into the bout.
Fares Ziam Releases Statement Following Loss to Tom Nolan
Taking to his social media after the loss to Nolan, Ziam posted a short message on his Instagram stories to his fans.
“Thank you all for your messages of support. I will come back stronger,” Ziam wrote on his Instagram stories (translated from French).
HeavyFares Ziam Instagram Stories
The good news for Ziam is that he was not finished in this fight. Although he did lose a clear decision, it was still a somewhat competitive bout that went the full three rounds. If Ziam had been knocked out or submitted, the loss would look a lot worse on him. So the fact that he at least went the three rounds with his opponent doesn’t look so bad, as Nolan is a tough out and clearly very talented, as he himself is now on a five-fight winning streak.
What’s Next for Fares Ziam After UFC Vegas 118?
On paper, this is a bad loss for Ziam. Not only did he see his six-fight win streak snapped when Nolan upset him, but he lost to an unranked fighter, which is never a good thing.
At just 29 years of age, Ziam is still on the right side of 30, so his career is certainly not over yet, and he will have a chance to bounce back in his next fight, whenever that may be.
With the UFC likely heading back to his native France this September, as they typically do, look for Ziam to fight on that card, though he may have to take a step back in the rankings and fight another unranked foe after losing to Nolan.
Overall, Ziam has an 8-3 record in the UFC and an 18-5 overall MMA record. That’s solid, for sure, and again, he’s only 29 years old, so he still has plenty of time to turn things around after losing to Nolan.
But anytime you are an unranked fighter and you lose to someone outside of the rankings, it’s a tough look.
Taking a glance at the UFC lightweight division, the only possible ranked opponent for Ziam would be No. 15-ranked Beneil Dariush. But Dariush is taking some time off after Quillan Salkilld knocked him out in his last fight, so he likely won’t be Ziam’s next opponent.
Some other potential opponents for Ziam are Michael Johnson, Kyle Nelson, Bolaji Oki, Esteban Ribovics, Daniel Zellhuber, Mateusz Rebecki, Chris Duncan, and Ignacio Bahamondes. These are all UFC veterans who are coming off a loss in their last fight, so they make sense for Ziam next.
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