Mounir Lazzez hopes his successful UFC debut will help open doors for his fellow fighters in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Tunisia’s Lazzez (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), the first born-and-raised Arab fighter to ever get signed to the UFC, showed off his well rounded game when he defeated knockout artist Abdul Razak Alhassan last week at UFC on ESPN 13.
Lazzez’s signing gave many fighters based in MENA a glimmer of hope, potentially showing the UFC’s willingness to invest in the region. The outpouring of support from the MENA region’s fans, media and fellow fighters put a massive spotlight on Lazzez, who admits it weighed on him a little bit, but ultimately he was able to capitalize.
“I tried my best to not have that pressure, but I couldn’t evade it, and thank God it had a positive impact on my performance,” Lazzez told MMA Junkie. “I believe what I offered the regional MMA fighters is hope. They know they can make it now because they saw I could do it. I’m not going to lie: It did feel like the regional fighters have been ignored.
“We only had the regional circuits, and there was never any interest from the UFC or international promotions. Things did seem to happen at the right time, though. We are ready now, and we will show it. I will certainly keep showing and proving it.”
Training out of Team Nogueira in Dubai, Lazzez has fought all across the Middle East under the Desert Force, BRAVE CF and UAE Warriors banners. Desert Force has been instrumental in developing the region’s talent, providing them a platform to pursue MMA as a full-time career.
Plenty of the region’s fighters have proven their ability to compete against talent from all over the world, and Lazzez thinks it’s only a matter of time that these fighters will start getting the call to the UFC.
“Truth is, there is a handful that would make an impact,” Lazzez said. “I don’t want to name names, but I believe the UFC is in talks with the most prominent names in the region, and I hope as many as possible make it. I hope that my performance shows that there is potential in the region and gives hope to both the UFC and the regional MMA fighters that this is indeed a worthwhile investment.”
Mounir Lazzez hopes his UFC debut performance showed Arab region's MMA potential