Ever since he debuted on the international MMA scene, Mounir Lazzez has been seen as a man on a mission to possibly become the first Arab to brace the coveted UFC title.
Lazzez who is dubbed "The Sniper" and is considered to be the Arab version of Conor Mcgregor due to his high knockout ratio and effective striking has had an accomplished martial arts career which lasted over 10 years and now he is the first Arab to join the prestigious organization.
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What tips the young Tunisian to possibly achieve this feat is that he was already ahead of the game for many years and was a fighting veteran before joining the UFC.
He had amateur careers in kickboxing, Muay Thai and Kung Fu. In which he had 45 amateur fights between each.
He then started MMA and competed at the highest Arab organization at the time Desert Force making an impact and knocking veteran fighters left and right. The Tunisian also had stints in Phoenix, then Brave and Probellum before making his way to the UFC.
In his debut, Lazzez picked up a huge win over Abdul Razak Alhassan in his UFC debut in July. He was scheduled to return vs. David Zawada at UFC on ESPN+ 38, but withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19.
He will now have his second biggest test as he is set to make his anticipated return to the UFC when he features on Fight Island 8 against Warlley Alves.
If Lazzez is able to defeat veteran fighter Alves the same way he did Abdul Razak, then he would have good claim to ask for a contendership match in order to face the winner of the upcoming Kamaru Usman vs Gilbert Burns fight.
As the sport of MMA is currently expanding in the Middle East, the Arab youth have always dreamed of having the chance to compete on the grand stages of the sport,. Lazzez knocking on Dana White's door and possibly succeeding may have the "Khabib Effect" when it comes to Arab fighters.
Khabib Nurmagomedov's huge success opened up the door for his fellow Russians from Caucasian decent to make their presence felt whether in the UFC or other great organizations.
Fighters like Islam Makhachev, Khamzat Chimaev, Zubaira Tukhugov and Zabit Magomedsharipov are currently ravaging through their respective pisions and could all potential become future world champions.
As the MMA Continues to grow in the Arab region, the sport could claim it currently has the second highest popularity among sports in the Arab region after Football, Lazzez may very well be the fighter that tips the scales and opens the door for young inspiring Arabs.
Economically, the UFC would benefit greatly from having an Arab world champion one day as it opens up the door for future business expansions which would reap great financial benefts.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah could be considered a great example when it comes to how having an Arab star can reap huge financial benefits. The Reds' Arabic platform Liverpool Arabia is one of the most followed social media entities in addition to most Arabs taking an interest in Liverpool in order to support their native hero.
Whether Lazzez could benefit from the Salah or Khabib effect is still to be known, but one thing is for sure the upcoming fight is vital for the young Tunisian as it has high stakes for both MMA in the region and the future of the fighter.
Lazzez is currently fighting out of Nogueira gym in the UAE and has had a fruitful training camp with the world's best fighters so it's safe to say the champion will be looking to make his presence felt in a few days.
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