Mounir Lazzez
Division: Light heavyweight
Result: Mounir Lazzez def. Abdul Razak Alhassan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Record: (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Grade: A-
Matched up against a strong judoka with devastating punch power, [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag] faced a serious acid test of his credentials – and his chin – on his UFC debut, and passed with flying colors.
The UFC newcomer ran the gauntlet in the first minute as the heavy-handed Abdul Razak Alhassan unloaded a vicious salvo of punches on the debutant. They were the sort of strikes that would have finished many a debutant, but Razzez took the shots, covered up and grinned before returning fire with shots of his own.
Lazzez picked his shots well as he mixed up his strikes, utilizing a nice lead elbow and left jab, while also working the body and punishing Alhassan’s legs with some punishing kicks.
After checking a succession of Alhassan leg kicks, Lazzez then started to loosen up as he connected with a beautiful body shot to head kick combination. He even showed off his wrestling skills with a superbly-timed double-leg takedown in the final seconds of the round.
Lazzez continued to stand and bang with Alhassan through Rounds 2 and 3 but also mixed up his strikes with a couple of takedowns, though some unusually swift standups from the referee meant we didn’t get much chance to see him progress and show us his submission skills on the mat.
Remarkably, the fight went all the way to the scorecards as Lazzez picked up the unanimous decision victory. But despite not crowning his eye-catching debut with a finish, the Dubai-based Tunisian showed that the UFC has an exciting new talent on their hands.