Fares Ziam’s fight against Mike Davis at UFC Saudi Arabia left fans reeling—not just because of the win, but due to the wild bloodbath that unfolded inside the cage. Despite taking some heavy shots early on, Ziam dug deep and fought his way back into the match, extending his win streak to five.
The brutal exchanges and his ability to turn the fight around earned him plenty of praise from fans, many of whom compared the fight to something straight out of WWE. It was a performance that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Current look at Fares Ziam vs. Mike Davis#UFCSaudiArabia pic.twitter.com/UofGpX1jn1
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) February 1, 2025
WWE or pro wrestling in general often has their athletes bleeding profusely after sustaining chair shots to their heads among other things. There’s also this little phenomenon called ‘blading’, where wrestlers cut themselves on purpose to bring a lot of authenticity to their matches, bleeding buckets as a result. And that is exactly what this fight looked like.
However, this was not the only similarity. Ziam got butchered by Davis early in the fight, only to flip the tables and put on a show worthy of a Wrestlemania main event. This fan admitted as much and said, “GUESS WWE CAME EARLY TODAY.”
GUESS WWE CAME EARLY TODAY
— Official League (@officialeague) February 1, 2025
Another fan saw Ziam carrying Davis on his shoulders, across the octagon and got reminded of the time when bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili did the exact same thing to Henry Cejudo at UFC 298. “He did the Merab”, he tweeted.
Commending Ziam for his standout performance, another guy exclaimed, “He flipped the script! What a turnaround by @ZiamFares at #UFCSaudiArabia!.”
He flipped the script! What a turnaround by @ZiamFares at #UFCSaudiArabia!
— Explorer (@explorer732) February 1, 2025
“Fares Ziam is undeniably game. The guy brings his most brutal and most effective attack every fight and it makes for such a spectacle. Awesome fight”- commented another.
Thanks to the win, Ziam is now looking to break into the rankings in arguably the most talent-stacked division in the UFC. But was the fight really that close? Or is it just the overdramatization of the events by fans?
How did the fight play out between Ziam and Davis?
Well… It was certainly dramatic. Whether the reactions are over the top is for you to judge.
Davis came out aggressive early on in the fight and went for a takedown, but Ziam stuffed it, and he ended up pulling guard. The two went back and forth on the mat, but Davis managed to get back to his feet a couple of times, although Ziam did end up landing some clean punches.
Davis finally got a takedown and transitioned to the back, but Ziam scrambled and managed to avoid any major damage. As the rounds went on, Ziam’s knee sliced open a cut on Davis that painted the octagon red for the rest of the night.
However, moments later, Davis locked in a nasty calf slicer. It looked like he was about the finish the fight but Ziam somehow powered through it, showing insane flexibility and pain tolerance.
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The third round looked like it was going to belong to a PPV main event but that calf slicer turned out to be Davis’ final gasp.
Once the bell rang, it was obvious that he was slowing down, and Ziam took advantage. He launched into Davis, secured a takedown, and punished him with some ground and pound.
He almost locked in an anaconda choke, but what do you know, Davis still had a little fight left in him. He managed to scramble out of it and land some strikes of his own before the round ended. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
