Mounir Lazzez

Mounir Lazzez
Mounir Lazzez VS Dmitrijs Homjakovs in 2018.
Born	(1987-11-16) November 16, 1987 (age 36) Sfax, Tunisia
Other names	The Sniper
Nationality	Tunisian
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Division	Welterweight
Reach	76.0 in (193 cm) [1]
Fighting out of	Sfax, Tunisia
Team	Team Nogueira Dubai
Years active	2012–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	14
Wins	11
By knockout	8
By decision	3
Losses	3
By knockout	1
By submission	1
By decision	1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Mounir Lazzez (born November 16, 1987) is a Tunisian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional fighter since 2012, he is the first fighter who was born and raised in an Arab country to be signed to the UFC.

Background

Born in the major port town of Sfax in the South East of Tunisia, ^[2] it was Mounir Lazzez highlights that lead to him being the first fighter that was born and raised in an Arab country to be signed to the UFC. Indeed, it was after Dana White watched Mounir Lazzez highlights whilst sitting in a restaurant that he was so impressed that he decided to sign him to the UFC. A friend of Lazzez had recognized the UFC president Dana White at a restaurant in Las Vegas in the United States of America and took the opportunity to show Mounir Lazzez highlights to him, and White being immediately impressed by the footage took the next steps to sign him to the UFC as soon as possible. ^[3]

He started MMA classes at the age of 15 in Tunisia, when his parents decided to put him in martial arts because he was being bullied. After competing on the regional and national level, he moved to Canada to focus on his wrestling, spending from 2009 until 2011 there until a business opportunity lured him to Dubai. ^[4]

Mixed martial arts career

Lazzez made his professional debut in 2012 and compiled a 9–1 record fighting for a variety of Middle Eastern promotions, most notably Brave Combat Federation, where he competed for the Super Lightweight title, losing the fight unanimous decision to Eldar Eldarov. ^{[5] [6]}

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Lazzez faced Abdul Razak Alhassan on July 16, 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige. ^[7] At the weigh-ins, Alhassan weighed in at 174 pounds, 3 pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. He was fined 20% of his purse which went to Lazzez and the bout proceeded at catchweight. ^[8] He won the fight via unanimous decision. ^[9] This fight earned him the Fight of the Night bonus. ^[10]

Lazzez, as a replacement for Christian Aguilera, faced Warlley Alves on January 20, 2021 at UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny. ^[11] He lost the fight via first round TKO. ^[12]

Lazzez was scheduled to face Niklas Stolze on July 31, 2021 at UFC on ESPN: Hall vs. Strickland. ^[13] However, Lazzez pulled out just a few days before the event due to visa issues and was replaced by Jared Gooden. ^[14]

Lazzez was scheduled to face Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on April 16, 2022 at UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2. ^[15] However, Zaleski dos Santos withdrew the week of the fight and was replaced by Ange Loosa. ^[16] He won the fight via unanimous decision. ^[17]

Lazzez faced Gabriel Bonfim on January 21, 2023 at UFC 283. ^[18] He lost the fight via a guillotine choke submission in the first round. ^[19]

On June 5, 2023, news surfaced that Lazzez had fought out his contract and the organization opted not to renew it. ^[20]

Championships and awards

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan ^[10]
• Desert Force Championship
  • Desert Force Welterweight Championship (One Time) ^[21]

Personal life

Association with Daniel Kinahan

Lazzez is reportedly close to Irish reputed gang boss and boxing promoter Daniel Kinahan, and praised him during his post fight octagon and media interview at UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2. ^[22] Kinahan is from Dublin, and is allegedly a senior figure in an international crime syndicate, the Kinahan Cartel, with criminal activities ^[23] including drugs and firearm smuggling. ^[24] Kinahan has been sanctioned by the United States government, who have offered a $5 million reward for key information on Kinahan and his brother and father. ^[25]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

14 matches	11 wins	3 losses
By knockout	8	1
By submission	0	1
By decision	3	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	11–3	Gabriel Bonfim	Submission (guillotine choke)	UFC 283	January 21, 2023	1	0:49	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Win	11–2	Ange Loosa	Decision (unanimous)	UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2	April 16, 2022	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	10–2	Warlley Alves	TKO (body kicks and punches)	UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny	January 20, 2021	1	2:35	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win	10–1	Abdul Razak Alhassan	Decision (unanimous)	UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige	July 15, 2020	3	5:00	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Catchweight (174 lb) bout; Alhassan missed weight. Fight of the Night.
Win	9–1	Arber Murati	TKO (knees and punches)	Probellum MMA Dubai: Lazzez vs. Murati	February 7, 2020	1	0:59	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Win	8–1	Sasha Palatnikov	TKO (elbows and punches)	UAE Warriors 8	October 18, 2019	1	4:48	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Return to Welterweight.
Loss	7–1	Eldar Eldarov	Decision (unanimous)	Brave CF 23	April 19, 2019	5	5:00	Amman, Jordan	For the vacant BCF Super Lightweight (165 lb) Championship.
Win	7–0	Dmitrijs Homjakovs	TKO	Brave CF 16	September 21, 2018	2	4:15	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Catchweight (176 lb) bout.
Win	6–0	Christophe Van Dijck	Decision (unanimous)	Phoenix Fighting Championship 4: Dubai	December 22, 2017	3	5:00	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Win	5–0	Mohamad Ghorabi	TKO (punches)	Desert Force 16	March 23, 2015	2	3:50	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Won the vacant Desert FC Welterweight Championship.
Win	4–0	Amr Fathee Wahman	KO (head kick)	Desert Force 11	March 7, 2014	1	2:00	Manama, Bahrain
Win	3–0	Anas Siraj Mounir	KO (head kick)	Desert Force 10	January 27, 2014	3	1:15	Amman, Jordan
Win	2–0	Ashkan Mehrdadpoor	TKO (punches)	Dubai FC 3	November 16, 2012	1	2:25	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Win	1–0	Andrew Connor	KO (punch)	Dubai FC 2	January 8, 2012	1	0:54	Dubai, United Arab Emirates

^[26]

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
2. "UFC Fight Night on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige betting odds, fight card and start times". www.fightbookmma.com.
3. "Dana White Reveals How He Heard of Mounir Lazzez". www.essentiallysports.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
4. "Mounir Lazzez paving a path for generation of Arab MMA fighters". Arab News. 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
5. "'THE SNIPER' Meet Mounir Lazzez". talksport.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
6. "LAZZEZ READY FOR HISTORIC UFC DEBUT". mtkmma.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
7. "Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Mounir Lazzez joins the UFC's July 15 lineup". MMA Junkie. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
8. Lee, Alexander K. (2020-07-14). "UFC on ESPN 13 weigh-in results: Two miss weight, one fight canceled". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
9. Bitter, Shawn (2020-07-15). "UFC Fight Island 1 Results: Mounir Lazzez Defeats Abdul Razak Alhassan in Debut". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
10. "UFC on ESPN 13 bonuses: Weight miss costs Abdul Razak Alhassan $50K for 'Fight of the Night'". MMA Junkie. 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
11. DNA, MMA (2021-01-04). "Mounir Lazzez vervangt Christian Aguilera vs. Warlley Alves". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
12. Jay Anderson (2021-01-20). "UFC Fight Island 8 Results: Warlley Alves Stuns, Stops Mounir Lazzez". cagesidepress. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
13. Farah Hannoun and John Morgan (2021-05-22). "UFC adds Mounir Lazzez vs. Niklas Stolze to July 31 event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
14. Farah Hannoun (2021-07-27). "With Mounir Lazzez out, Jared Gooden targeted as replacement to face Niklas Stolze at UFC on ESPN 28". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
15. Cruz, Guilherme (2022-02-08). "UFC adds Elizeu Zaleski vs. Mounir Lazzez to April 16 event". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
16. Guilherme Cruz (2022-04-11). "Elizeu Zaleski withdraws from UFC Vegas 51 fight with Mounir Lazzez due to personal reasons". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
17. Bitter, Shawn (2022-04-16). "UFC Vegas 51: Mounir Lazzez Back in Win Column with Decision Over Ange Loosa". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
18. Steve Duncan (2022-09-24). "Gabriel Bonfim vs. Mounir Lazzez agregado a UFC 283 - MMA.uno, #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español". mma.uno. Retrieved 2022-09-24.(in Spanish)
19. Shawn Bitter (2023-01-21). "UFC 283: Gabriel Bonfim takes under a minute to submit Mounir Lazzez". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
20. Damon Martin (June 5, 2023). "Makwan Amirkhani, Trevin Jones and four more fighters removed from UFC roster". mmafighting.com.
21. "Blessed with venom: Mounir lazzez". fightgods.net. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
22. "UFC fighter uses victory interview to thank alleged mob boss Daniel Kinahan". au.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
23. Reynolds, Paul (18 May 2020). "Daniel Kinahan 'reinventing' himself as boxing promoter". RTÉ News. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
24. "Boxing promotions company MTK enters partnership with Daniel Kinahan". RTÉ News. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
25. "Daniel Kinahan and Kinahan cartel: US offering $5 million reward for key information on Kinahan gang". independent. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
26. Sherdog.com. "Mounir Lazzez". Sherdog. Retrieved 2020-08-07.

External links

• Media related to Mounir Lazzez at Wikimedia Commons
• Professional MMA record for Mounir Lazzez from Sherdog
• Mounir Lazzez at UFC