Tag: Mounir Lazzez

Mounir Lazzez explains how friend’s encounter with Dana White led to UFC signing

Mounir Lazzez broke into the UFC in an unusual way.

ABU DHABI – [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag]’s entry into the UFC was unorthodox.

Ahead of his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN 13, Lazzez (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) spoke about his signing with reporters during a pre-fight media scrum held Monday.

According to Lazzez, a friend ran into UFC president Dana White at a Las Vegas restaurant. In an effort to convince White to sign Lazzez, his friend showed White his highlight reel. The rest is history.

“Yes, by chance he came across Dana White in some restaurant in Vegas, and he showed him my highlight reel,” Lazzez told MMA Junkie. “My name was there on the table since the last (event), Khabib vs. Poirier, that they had here in Abu Dhabi. That’s how they get the deal done. He showed him my highlight reel. (White) followed him on social media, and he put me in contact with Sean Shelby. He offered me a direct fight on July 15 against my opponent. I got the message on social media. I told him I’m up for it. Just direct, I put him in contact with my manager, and we got the deal done.”

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Tack it up to luck. Tack it up to skill. Whatever you attribute his signing to, Lazzez thinks it happened at a perfect time.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Lazzez said. “I believe everything happened at the right time in the right moment. Whatever you want to call it. Hard work got me here – or luck. Whatever. I’m here.”

Lazzez, a Dubai resident, will make his first UFC walk in his own backyard when he takes on Razak Abdul Alhassan (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the main card opened. Lazzez always envisioned traveling across the world for his debut but is proud to be fighting on the big stage regardless of location.

“It’s a happy moment,” Lazzez said. “I’m proud. I was always visualizing (for) a long time that I would make the walk to the octagon in Las Vegas in MGM Grand or somewhere. But you know, it’s in my (backyard) here. I live in Dubai (for) like 10 years now – or nine. This is a proud moment for me to make it here in ‘Fight Island.'”

UFC on ESPN 13 takes place Wednesday at Flash Forum on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The event airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

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UFC on ESPN 13: Make your predictions for Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige

We want your predictions for Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 13 event in Abu Dhabi.

We want your predictions for Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 13 event in Abu Dhabi.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Monday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC on ESPN 13 event staff predictions we release Tuesday ahead of the event. UFC on ESPN 13 takes place Wednesday at Flash Forum in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

Make your picks for all five main card fights inside:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7

UFC announces full ‘Fight Island’ lineup, includes 47 bouts in 15 days

“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.

“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.

UFC president Dana White today announced the complete lineup for the four cards that will take place next month in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The unique setup has been necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has made it difficult to get international fighters into the U.S. to compete.

“I think this is going to be a really unique experience, not just for the fighters, but for us,” UFC president Dana White said during the announcement. “It’s going to be cool. It’s going to be something different. It’s never been done before, and however long this thing goes on, and however long it’s hard to get people in from other countries, we will have these fights at ‘Fight Island’ – Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.”

First up, it’s UFC 251 on July 11, which features a trio of title fights.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] – for welterweight title
  • Champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] – for featherweight title
  • [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] – for vacant bantamweight title
  • [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Henry[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Roman Bogatov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Alexander Romanov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raulian Paiva[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Vanessa Melo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Martin Day[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]
Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige

The promotion then returns on July 15 with an event headlined by featherweight contenders [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC).

The complete lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET)

  • Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
  • [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Chris Fishgold[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY (7 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]John Phillips[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Liana Jojua[/autotag]
Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo

Three days later, on July 18, the promotion hosts its third card in eight days, when top flyweight contenders [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) meet for a second time with the vacant UFC flyweight title on the line.

The full card includes:

MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET)

  • Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez – for vacant flyweight title
  • [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Askar Askarov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (6 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khadis Ibragimov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nad Narimani[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Joel Alvarez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Joe Duffy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Brett Johns[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Aleksander Doskalchuk[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Davi Ramos[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carlos Felipe[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag]
Darren Till and Robert Whittaker

Finally, the UFC’s run in Abu Dhabi ends on July 25 with a much-anticipated middleweight contest between former champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC).

That night’s full lineup includes:

MAIN CARD

  • Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till
  • [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Peter Sobotta[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raphael Pessoa[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mike Grundy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Bethe Correia[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ramazan Emeev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]

Mounir Lazzez ‘truly blessed’ to make history as an Arab fighter in the UFC

Mounir Lazzez will draw a stern test for his UFC debut against Abdul Razak Alhassan, but he’s excited about the stylistic matchup.

[autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] is not one to go to the judges’ scorecards.

Lazzez (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who became the first fighter born and raised in an Arab country to sign with UFC, will make his promotional debut July 15 when he takes on [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag].

Lazzez, a Tunisian-born striker based out of Team Nogueira in Dubai, has dazzled fans in the region with an array of highlight-reel knockouts, finishing eight of his nine professional wins. He will draw a stern test in fellow proven finisher Alhassan, but Lazzez is excited about the stylistic matchup.

“He is definitely an opponent that requires my full attention,” Lazzez told MMA Junkie. “A 10-1 record with all wins coming via first-round KO isn’t someone you look past. However, he likes to stand and bang, and that will be his demise against me. I have more weapons, and his looping overhands will never find me. Should he decide to grapple, I just got through a black belt Judoka three fights back, and I train out of the mecca of Submission Grappling, the UAE, with top ADCC champions as my sparring partners.

“On my best day It will be hard for anyone to beat me. I don’t want to come across as arrogant, but I truly believe in my ability and feel this is my fate. This is going to be a battle that can end at any moment. It will be fireworks from start to finish, and I can’t wait.”

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Lazzez has fought across numerous regional shows, capturing the Desert Force welterweight title early in his career. He has always been dubbed as one of the top talents in the Middle East and despite making history with his signing, he knew this moment would arrive.

“I feel truly blessed to be representing the MENA region in the world’s biggest combat stage,” Lazzez said. “After going through the top promotions in the region and fighting for every title there is around, I have been waiting for this to happen. There wasn’t anything else left for me on a regional scale. The only direction was going international, and thank God it was the UFC.”

With the UFC’s new five-year deal with Abu Dhabi in place, as well as the promotion’s return for the entire month of July on Yas Island, Lazzez’s signing might be a sign of big opportunities to come for Middle East-based fighters.

“This goes to show that the UAE has a base for talent and that my signing is a pioneering moment for all the upcoming fighters in the region and the UFC,” Lazzez said. “I hope I can be the key to all of this and leave a permanent footprint in the expansion of the sport in the region. You need that mentality to make it to the big leagues.

“It is my time to pursue my dream now as it pertains to my MMA journey and will help the UFC grow its footprint here by garnering support from casual MMA fans to support one of their own. A regional born and bred fighter, to show the world what we are capable of and open the door for more to follow.”

And for those who aren’t familiar with Lazzez’s skills, he wants everyone to know that he has no intention of coasting in his UFC debut.

“I come from a striking background, but being in the UAE and around ADCC champions I’ve matured into a well rounded MMA fighter,” Lazzez said. “I enjoy fighting. I would rather go out for the KO than play it safe and try to win a boring decision. It was my flashy knockouts that got me here, and that is what will get people behind me to achieve the belt. For me, this is entertainment as much as it is a sport, and I want to put on a show.”

Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Mounir Lazzez joins the UFC’s July 15 lineup

A welterweight banger between Abdul Razak Alhassan and Mounir Lazzez is the latest addition to the UFC’s July 15 lineup.

A welterweight banger is the latest addition to the UFC’s July 15 lineup.

[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) will face newcomer [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi – also known as “Fight Island.”

Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking Wednesday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Winner of three in a row, Alhassan hasn’t competed since his 43-second knockout over Niko Price in September 2018. He was forced to the sidelines due to accusations of sexual assault, but in March, Alhassan was found not guilty of all charges.

Team Nogueira Dubai’s Lazzez is coming off back-to-back first-round finishes. The Tunisian striker is a former Desert Force welterweight champion and has one lone loss on his record to Brave CF super lightweight champion Eldar Eldarov.

With the addition, the current July 15 lineup includes:

  • Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez
  • Aleksander Doskalchuk vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Mounir Lazzez

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