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Fares Ziam "The Smile Killer"

Active #26 lightweight · age 29 · Orthodox · 6'1" 185 cm · 155 lb 70 kg · reach 75" 191 cm
At a glance
Elo rating
1552
Global Elo 1596 ±34
Rank
#26
top 28% of division
UFC record
8-3-0
KO 2 · Sub 0 · Dec 6
Streak
-1
Δ90d -17 · Δ1y +2
Last fight
Jun 6, 2026
Loss by Decision · R3
Career at a glance
Octagon time
2h 25m
Avg fight time
13:12
Bonuses
1
Fights per year
1.6
Ground control
40m
Since last fight
14d

Honest Elo history

11 fights · tap & drag
Sep 7, 2019 — L vs Don Madge Δ-26Oct 17, 2020 — W vs Jamie Mullarkey Δ+29Jun 12, 2021 — W vs Luigi Vendramini Δ+29Feb 26, 2022 — L vs Terrance McKinney Δ-33Sep 3, 2022 — W vs Michal Figlak Δ+29Jul 22, 2023 — W vs Jai Herbert Δ+15Feb 24, 2024 — W vs Claudio Puelles Δ+18Sep 28, 2024 — W vs Matt Frevola Δ+17Feb 1, 2025 — W vs Mike Davis Δ+17Dec 6, 2025 — W vs Nazim Sadykhov Δ+19Jun 6, 2026 — L vs Tom Nolan Δ-17 14001450150015501600 202120232025 [{"i":0,"x":90,"y":363,"elo":1429,"date":"2019-09-07","opp":"Don Madge","result":"L","delta":-26},{"i":1,"x":208.6,"y":317.2,"elo":1458,"date":"2020-10-17","opp":"Jamie Mullarkey","result":"W","delta":29},{"i":2,"x":278.2,"y":270.2,"elo":1487,"date":"2021-06-12","opp":"Luigi Vendramini","result":"W","delta":29},{"i":3,"x":353.9,"y":322.8,"elo":1455,"date":"2022-02-26","opp":"Terrance McKinney","result":"L","delta":-33},{"i":4,"x":409.1,"y":276.6,"elo":1483,"date":"2022-09-03","opp":"Michal Figlak","result":"W","delta":29},{"i":5,"x":503.2,"y":253.2,"elo":1498,"date":"2023-07-22","opp":"Jai Herbert","result":"W","delta":15},{"i":6,"x":566.6,"y":224.9,"elo":1516,"date":"2024-02-24","opp":"Claudio Puelles","result":"W","delta":18},{"i":7,"x":630,"y":197.4,"elo":1533,"date":"2024-09-28","opp":"Matt Frevola","result":"W","delta":17},{"i":8,"x":666.8,"y":170.6,"elo":1550,"date":"2025-02-01","opp":"Mike Davis","result":"W","delta":17},{"i":9,"x":756.8,"y":139.8,"elo":1569,"date":"2025-12-06","opp":"Nazim Sadykhov","result":"W","delta":19},{"i":10,"x":810,"y":167.4,"elo":1552,"date":"2026-06-06","opp":"Tom Nolan","result":"L","delta":-17}]

Last fights

Elo-based expectation · not betting advice
Date Opponent Result Δ Elo
Jun 6, 2026 Tom Nolan L -17
Dec 6, 2025 Nazim Sadykhov W +19
Feb 1, 2025 Mike Davis W +17
Sep 28, 2024 Matt Frevola W +17
Feb 24, 2024 Claudio Puelles W +18

Performance

SLpM Significant Strikes Landed per Minute. Higher = busier striker.
Strikes Landed
L1L3L5
Str Acc Striking accuracy: significant strikes landed / attempted. Higher = more efficient striker.
Strike Accuracy
L1L3L5
SApM Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute. How often opponents land on this fighter. Lower is better.
Strikes Absorbed
L1L3L5
Str Def Share of opponent’s significant strike attempts that miss or are blocked. Higher is better.
Striking Defense
L1L3L5
TD / 15 min Takedowns landed per 15 minutes (one full 3-round fight). Measures wrestling output.
Takedowns
L1L3L5
TD Acc Takedowns landed / attempted. Higher = cleaner entries.
Takedown Accuracy
L1L3L5
TD Def Share of opponent takedown attempts stuffed. Higher = harder to put on the mat.
Takedown Defense
L1L3L5
Sub / 15 min Submission attempts per 15 minutes. Counts attempts, not just finishes — a proxy for grappling aggression.
Submission Attempts
L1L3L5
Ctrl / 15 min Control time in seconds per 15 minutes. Time in dominant grappling positions. 240 = 4 min, the realistic high-end across divisions.
Control Time (sec)
L1L3L5
KD / 15 min Knockdowns landed per 15 minutes. Counts every flash KD even if the fight continued — measures stopping power across all rounds, not just finishes.
Knockdowns
L1L3L5
Above division avg (intensity ∝ how far)
Near avg (±10%)
Below division avg

Finishes

How wins come Finish rate = (KO + Submission wins) / total UFC wins. Measures how often this fighter closes the show before the scorecards.
25%
2 / 8
Finish rate
KO
2
25% of wins
SUB
0
0% of wins
DEC
6
75% of wins
KO: 2 (25%) 2 Sub: 0 (0%) Dec: 6 (75%) 6
Finishes by round
2 total
R1
R2
1 50%
R3
1 50%
R4
R5

Striking profile

Where significant strikes land — by target zone and by position. 389 landed total · career

Targets head · body · leg
66% Head
  • Head 66%
  • Body 19%
  • Leg 16%
Positions distance · clinch · ground
70% Distance
  • Distance 70%
  • Clinch 13%
  • Ground 18%

Durability

How they're beaten How fights end AGAINST this fighter. Finished-against rate = (times KO'd + submitted) / total UFC losses. A low rate means they rarely get stopped.
33%
of losses by finish
1 of 3
0 KO/TKO 1 Sub 2 Dec Never been KO'd

Strength of schedule in UFC

Avg opp Elo (last 5) Average Elo rating of the last 5 opponents this fighter faced. A proxy for schedule difficulty — 1700+ is elite-level competition, 1500 is a UFC average opponent.
1581
UFC level
Quality wins (1600+) Wins over opponents rated 1600+ Elo at the time of the fight — clearly above the ~1500 UFC average, contender tier. A count of genuine quality results, not record-padding.
1
of 8 UFC wins
Toughest win The highest-rated opponent this fighter has a win over, by that opponent's Elo at fight time.
Nazim Sadykhov
Elo 1612 at fight time
Expected wins How many wins an average fighter would be expected to have against this exact schedule, based on pre-fight Elo win probabilities. The line below shows whether this fighter is over- or under-performing their matchups.
5.5
+2.5 wins above what this schedule implies
Opponent Elo over career · 11 UFC fights, oldest → newest
1533
1584

Top lightweight

See full rankings →
Source Raw fight data and per-bout statistics come from Fares Ziam on UFCStats →. Elo rating, uncertainty bands, and division-relative analytics computed by HonestElo — not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.