Just over a month after his victory against Ismaël Bonfim, the Azurean Axel Sola is already back in the cage for the co-main event of UFC Paris 2026. Facing the experienced Farès Ziam, Axel Sola will be watched by the MMA world and could take on a new dimension in case of victory.
This is a fight that French MMA connoisseurs will particularly appreciate. A real war between two rising stars of French MMA. Axel Sola, a 28-year-old from Nice, facing Fares Ziam, 29 years old.
Placed in co-main event, this fight pits two fighters with very different trajectories against each other. Axel Sola fought for a long time in more modest MMA organizations. He only fought his first UFC fight very recently, at 27 years old, in September 2025.
Farès Ziam, on the other hand, started at the UFC very early, at 22 years old, in March 2019. Experience that could work to the detriment of the fighter from Nice.
A big challenge for Axel Sola
Axel Sola will be the underdog in this confrontation. With only three UFC fights, including two victories and one defeat, Axel Sola’s experience at the highest level is considerably lower than that of Farès Ziam. Nevertheless, the fighter from Nice is coming off a nice first-round submission victory against Ismaël Bonfim a month and a half ago.
For Farès Ziam the dynamic is very different. The Lyonnais fighter comes off a defeat to Tom Nolan last June and will want to bounce back. At the UFC, his record stands at eight victories for three defeats. Before his loss to Tom Nolan by decision, Farès Ziam had not lost since 2022, an undefeated streak of six consecutive fights.
He was even ranked 14th before his last fight. When you know that the Lightweight division is by far the most competitive in the UFC, that says a lot about Farès Ziam’s level.
Without fearing his opponent, Axel Sola is aware of the challenge that awaits him and the support that Farès Ziam should receive: “It’s clear that Farès has a very interesting track record at the UFC, he’s had a lot of fights. Now the French public knows him, they know he’s a good fighter and that he delivers quality performances, it’s sure that a Farès fight is a plus in terms of buzz.”
Both athletes have a complete profile with very good striking qualities and decent ground game. Nevertheless, Axel Sola is the only one to have finished a fight on the ground by submission at the UFC.
Express preparation
In MMA, it is rare to see fighters compete more than three times in a year. Between physical and mental preparation, training camps, pre-fight weight cuts, the routine of an MMA fighter is very demanding on the body, and the damage sustained in the arena sometimes requires several months of rest.
Axel Sola chose to face Farès Ziam only 42 days after his victory against Ismaël Bonfim. An ultra-fast preparation that he accepts straightforwardly: “I feel very good and I can’t wait to get there. I managed my training camp the same way as a normal training camp, the only change is the phase where you reduce calories more intensely which comes faster, but ultimately it doesn’t change the process.”
On Farès Ziam’s side, the recent defeat seems digested: “When you only win you have blinders on. This defeat taught me to know myself better mentally. That’s where you have to be strong, being strong in the cage also comes from being strong outside the cage”.
The two Frenchmen will face each other in the cage at the Accor Hôtel Arena tomorrow night at 11 p.m., for the highly anticipated co-main event of UFC Paris 2026.
NicePremium is a free, independent local news outlet.
Help us keep going by supporting our work from €5 per month.
