The UFC has added a fight between two French fighters for the UFC Paris event on September 5. Farès Ziam returns to the Octagon in search of redemption for his most recent fight. He takes on countryman Axel Sola in the Accor Arena.
Multiple sources have confirmed the match-up to Heavy.com after an initial report from the French page MMA Gang Officiel. Both guys hope to win to get a shot at someone ranked in the top 15 of the lightweight division.
Work His Way Back To The Top 15
For Farès Ziam, the fight against Axel Sola is a very important one. The French fighter got cut from the UFC after going 2-2 on his first contract in 2022. The UFC re-signed him a couple of months later after booking the first event in Paris. Ziam proved to the UFC that they made a mistake by not giving him a new contract at first. Ziam went on to win six fights in a row and fought his way into the top 15 of the lightweight division.
The French fighter beat fighters like Matt Frevola, Mike Davis, and Nazim Sadykhov. Two months ago, he took on Tom Nolan and hoped to establish himself as a top-15 fighter and win his seventh fight in a row. Ziam didn’t fight well, and Nolan broke the six-fight winning streak of the Frenchman via unanimous decision. Ziam is back in Paris now and takes on his countryman Axel Sola.
A Big Fight At Home
Axel Sola will have his one-year anniversary in the UFC when he takes on Ziam in the Octagon. Sola is one of the brightest prospects fighting out of France. Last year, the French fighter came over from Ares FC, where he was a four-time defending lightweight champion. Because Sola took his UFC debut on short notice, he took on Rhys McKee in the welterweight division. Sola fought an impressive debut and beat McKee in the third round by TKO. In March of this year, the French fighter got a step up in competition when he took on Mason Jones.
In a ‘Fight of the Night’ performance, Sola lost after three rounds by unanimous decision. Last month, Sola returned to the Octagon against Ismael Bonfim. Sola beat Bonfim right before the end of the first round with a D’Arce choke submission. With two wins in three fights, he now gets another step up in competition when he takes on Farès Ziam.
UFC Paris – September 5 (Accor Arena)
- Dan Hooker vs. Salahdine Parnasse
- Nora Cornolle vs. Klaudia Syguła
- Farès Ziam vs. Axel Sola
- Michael Page vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
- Mario Pinto vs. Ryan Spann
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Mairon Santos
- Morgan Charrière vs. Felipe Lima
- Punahele Soriano vs. Daniil Donchenko
- Oumar Sy vs. Modestas Bukauskas
- Losene Keita vs. Muhammad Naimov
- Kurtis Campbell vs. Trevor Peek
- Luis Felipe Dias vs. Matthieu Duclos
- Michael Aljarouj vs. Fabia Sintes
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post French Bragging Rights At Stake During UFC Paris appeared first on HEAVY.