Tunisian has waited 15 months to get back into the octagon, where he faces Ange Loosa in Las Vegas this weekend
Finally, after 15 months and cancelled bouts and replacement rivals, Mounir Lazzez is back competing in the UFC.
The road to his return has been long, with a succession of bumps along the way, but on Sunday morning the Dubai-based welterweight takes on Ange Loosa at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Understandably, what’s gone before — Lazzez’s US debut last July was scuppered by visa issues, while Loosa was an 11th-hour stand-in this week — has only added fuel to the fire.
“It gives you more hunger, it gives you more appreciation for the opportunity you get after a long time, for sure,” Lazzez tells The National from his hotel room Stateside. “It feels good, man. It’s been a long journey and I’m so grateful and happy to get the opportunity to be here in Las Vegas.
“Different place, different atmosphere. New energy.”
Lazzez’s last appearance in the UFC — his second — came in January last year, when he lost to Warlley Alves at Eithad Arena in Abu Dhabi after accepting the fight on short notice. A Dubai resident since 2012, the Tunisian was returning from a troublesome bout of Covid-19 that forced his withdrawal from a scheduled clash at a UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi the previous October, and he was beaten by first-round TKO.
It snapped his three-fight win streak, a significant setback following his triumphant Fight of the Night debut in the promotion during the inaugural Fight Island in July 2020.
Predictably, lessons were learnt.
“That I have to listen to my management,” Lazzez says with a smile. “Short notice, came after Covid. I’m not making excuses — I take the win and the loss the same. But I was big-headed, even when my management said 8–10 days isn’t enough. I said, ‘No I can do it’. And reality hit me.”
Thankfully, though, it did not take long for Lazzez to come to terms with the defeat.
“One week,” he shrugs. “Don’t be overly happy with the win, don’t be overly sad with the loss. Life goes on. It’s part of the journey; it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.
“The journey is the sport. I love competing, I love challenges. This is part of the game. And this isn’t a game, it’s fighting. It can go either way sometimes.”
On Sunday, Lazzez says he will do everything for it to go his way. He was originally slated to face Elizeu Zaleski, but the Brazilian withdrew earlier this week reportedly citing personal reasons. Cue a frantic few days with the UFC trying to salvage a bout, before Loosa was eventually, and belatedly, booked.
“For three days I was super stressed, because it was five-six days [out from the fight] and two days unknown,” Lazzez says. “It made me a little bit out of my head. But I kept calm, said whatever’s going to happen will happen.
“You can’t control anything, only what’s in your hand. Maybe it happened to someone else last time, with me. This is combat sports, it’s not dancing. Anything can happen.
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