Fares Ziam Knocks Out Matt Frevola at UFC Paris
Matt Frevola promised an intense, aggressive fight against Fares Ziam in Paris on September 28, 2024. The bout instead ended with Ziam landing a knockout knee at 2:59 of Round 3. It opened the main card, not the prelims, and earned Ziam a Performance of the Night bonus.
Ziam’s late finish changed the fight
Frevola pressed forward, but Ziam stayed composed and found the decisive opening late in the third. He landed the knee in the clinch to stop Frevola at 2:59. The official Paris results confirm the finish, while the promotion’s 2024 bonus recap lists Ziam among the night’s performance-bonus winners. The bout gave the main card a highlight knockout before the bigger-name matchups.
What followed for both lightweights
Ziam added a second-round stoppage of Nazim Sadykhov in December 2025, then lost a unanimous decision to Tom Nolan in June 2026. On September 5, he was knocked out by Axel Sola in the first round of the Paris co-main event. The event report records the result.
Frevola next fought Kyle Nelson in Vancouver on October 18, 2025. Nelson won a three-round unanimous decision, with scores of 30–27, 29–28 and 29–28. The official event results list the cards.
A bold preview, then a sudden finish
Before Paris, Frevola said he wanted a dogfight and expected his forward pressure to create openings. Ziam’s timing proved decisive instead. The bout delivered the aggressive contest Frevola expected, but the final exchange belonged to Ziam and became one of the night’s defining finishes.
