Farès Ziam was 22 years old when he stepped into the Octagon for the first time; a tall, gangly kid with a 10-2 record and a ton of potential, but one lacking the foundational pieces to thrive on this level that only come with time, experience, and a little additional seasoning.
It showed through his first four fights, where wins over Jamie Mullarkey and Luigi Vendramini came in between a loss to Don Madge in that debut effort and a first-round submission finish at the hands of Terrance McKinney at the outset of his 2022 campaign. As often as you saw the flashes of upside, there were equal flickers of self-doubt and skill gaps that needed to be filled in.