The Sorrow of ‘Smile Killer’ Continues with Axel Sola at UFC Fight Night 287
The fighting spirit of France was modeled by its resistance fighters during Nazi-occupied France. Today, that fighting spirit shows up in homegrown fighters competing in the international combat sport known as UFC. The UFC has even chosen France’s Accor Arena in the storied city of Paris to showcase one of its own fighters, Farès Ziam. Ironically, his opponent comes in the form of a fellow Frenchman in the Men’s Lightweight Division, whose name is Axel Sola. Ziam has even developed a nickname, ‘Smile Killer’, whereas Sola, at 28 years of age, has not. Perhaps this fight will be the one where the 28-year-old fighter earns one to carry for the remainder of the year.
However, it’s no small loss if he doesn’t, because what matters is maintaining his winning streak, which took a hit recently. For this fight, Sola will have an advantage in the fact that he lands 4.50 strikes per minute. He will have to maintain that advantage if he hopes to score higher than his opponent when the judges tally all points. The 28-year-old is also heavier than his opponent and can put increased stress on him during a clinch or successful takedown. Both of which may be needed if he seeks to keep a dominant position on the ground. If he does not, it will be expected that the ‘Smile Killer’ will seek to put in significant strikes of his own.
After all, based on his stats, he is the more cautious fighter of the two. Ziam will be the one with higher accuracy when striking, as well as in overall defense. So, when the six-foot fighter goes for a strike, it’ll more than likely find its desired target. Furthermore, he can rest assured he has higher reach than his opponent. This’ll give him the ability to keep his opponent at bay most of the time. The ground will be an equalizer in this fight as well, but it will be a benefit to the ‘Smile Killer’ due to his increased defense on the takedown.
The crowd predictions put Sola as the winner of this fight mostly due to his tenacity. He will land more strikes than his opponent, and if all goes well, this will put him ahead at the end of the fight. The French native will need to be careful when it comes to the fact that if he throws an ill-timed strike, his opponent will capitalize on that. Also, the ground could be where Ziam finds an advantage. This is because he has a higher defense and could reverse any takedown into a dominant position for himself. The first round may even see that because the 29-year-old’s competitor will be frustrated by his standing defense and avoidance of strikes.
Fights can go either way, but the reason the crowd could be right in this fight is that both fighters are even on most of their statistics. This means the projected win-by-decision for Sola is due to his throwing more strikes both on the ground and while standing. He’s also heavier and will cause the wind to be lost from any momentum his opponent seeks to gain from a takedown. In short, the French fighter will wind his opponent down and will outcompete him on points by the end of this match. The best way to see who wins, though, will be to watch the fight live through Paramount+ at 3:00 p.m. EDT!
