France faced off against England as Fares Ziam came onto Jai Herbert’s home turf at the O2 Arena for UFC London.
‘The Black Country Banger,’ Jai Herbert, has had an up-and-down UFC run with a 2-3-1 record in the promotion. His last three fights have come at the last three UFC events in London, with a loss, win, and draw in those, respectively. He looked to reach .500 in the UFC with champion Leon Edwards in his corner. Herbert faced off against French kickboxer Fares Ziam, who entered with a winning 3-2 UFC record.
The two long orthodox kickboxers tested the waters to begin, feinting jabs and throwing low kicks. The striking was even to begin and was dominated by kicks until Ziam opened up a bit with a 1-2 two minutes in. Herbert followed suit but could not land his combination. Jai Herbert clinched up halfway through the first, using his double underhooks and head position to control Ziam against the fence. Ziam started to break free as Herbert attempted and failed a trip, but the Brit maintained control and got the fight back to the fence. Ziam soon reversed the position and went for a single leg but Jai defended it well. The two continued to jockey for position, neither doing much damage. Ziam finally broke free and landed a decent elbow on the break with thirty seconds left. The striking output remained low for the last moments.
The second round began with the two upping the volume as Herbert pressed forward. Both men landed decent strikes and then Herbert clinched up again. Both men connected in the pocket at the same time when Ziam broke free but the right hand of Fares landed cleaner. Jai then clinched up again. They kept breaking apart only for Herbert to return to the clinch, looking for the takedown without success. Finally a takedown was landed, but it was Ziam who got it, not Herbert. However Herbert was able to execute a sweep and they stood back up in the clinch. The rest of the round passed without incident.
The fight was too close to call when the last round began. It had been a relatively low-output fight when striking, and a lot of damage-free clinchwork meant that the scorecards could read almost anything. The two exchanged low kicks and jabs once again when the final round started. Ziam landed the first solid shot, a right hand, seventy seconds into the round. Two low kicks in particular from Fares drew a reaction from Herbert after that. Jai responded by trying another takedown. He tried a lat drop and Ziam kept his footing but gave up the rear body-lock. Jai got one hook in but was unable to get the other in and Ziam turned to face him in the clinch again.
Ziam reversed the clinch position and got on the outside to land knees to the body. Herbert tried a whizzer-kick but Fares kept his footing, though he lost the outside position. They exited the clinch with ninety seconds left and once more exchanged low kicks. With thirty seconds left Ziam attempted a double leg takedown but got pushed against the fence in the clinch once more. He then reversed it and got the outside position, nearly landing a takedown before the bell. However Herbert kept his butt inches off the floor and got back to his feet as the round ended.
The decision could feasibly have gone either way when the judges’ scorecards were read. Bruce Buffer announced that Fares Ziam was the winner, earning two rounds on two judges’ scorecards and all three on the other.
Official Result: Fares Ziam def. Jai Herbert by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
