UFC FREEDOM 250
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Aiemann Zahabi | Ready to Break Out | UFC Freedom 250
Surging Bantamweight Rightfully Sees UFC Freedom 250 As Launch Pad Moment | UFC Freedom 250 Presented by Crypto.com and RAM
Everyone who walks to the Octagon after Aiemann Zahabi on Sunday, June 14, at the White House is either a current or former UFC titleholder.
Be it an interim belt or undisputed title, each of the five athletes that will follow the French-Canadian bantamweight into the cage at UFC Freedom 250 has been a champion of some kind, and the fact that the 38-year-old will be the final non-titleholder to stride out to the South Lawn speaks to the incredible opportunity before him next month.
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“I’ve always dreamed about being here,” Zahabi said earlier this month when discussing his showdown with Sean O’Malley. “I was just telling people that I’m doing this for the 16-year-old me. Why would I be afraid of this moment? I take this moment with great pride. It’s a body of work these last 20 years —I’ve done everything I can to get these opportunities, so I’m excited to go in and fight another former champ.”
To the wider MMA audience, Zahabi is one of the more lesser-known commodities competing on this exclusive and iconic event; a standout talent who currently sits at No. 6 in the bantamweight rankings and carries a seven-fight winning streak into his battle with O’Malley, but whose last name still rings out more in regard to his brother and coach, Firas, than it does him.
People who follow the sport on a more consistent basis are acutely aware of the youngest of the Zahabi boys' mixed martial arts journey and early UFC struggles, through to his current and ongoing run of good form that has seen him earn back-to-back narrow wins over José Aldo and Marlon “Chito” Vera. But for someone as close to contention as Zahabi is at the moment and enjoying as much success as he has over the last four years and counting, the streaking technician has yet to receive the kind of recognition you would anticipate someone who has won seven straight in one of the most competitive divisions in the sport would receive.
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That’s why this opportunity means so much to Zahabi.
“This is a great one because I’ve always been wanting to enter the mainstream, have the big following and all of that stuff, and this is my opportunity at the White House,” he admitted. “There is no bigger UFC event than this one; no other event is going to be as watched as this one.
“It boosts my career,” Zahabi said. “I’m hoping to beat him up in front of all his fans and get all his fans to start following me back; that would be nice.”
As much as Zahabi rightfully sees this as a potential launch pad opportunity when it comes to his profile and standing within both the division and the greater MMA consciousness, he’s been around the sport long enough to know that at the end of the day, none of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the event nor the size of someone’s social media following means anything once the Octagon door is locked behind them.
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“You have to thrive in these moments when you get a big name like that or a former champion because this is everything you’ve ever wanted,” Zahabi said. “If you really want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, and I’m here to beat him. For me, it’s all pageantry, it’s all theater, it’s all for show; all that stuff is for the fans. For the fighters, it’s just one-on-one in the cage.
“Nobody can intercede in the fight. His following can’t get in there and help him. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 30, 40, 50,000 followers like me or you’ve got a million followers like him, at the end of the day, I’m fighting Sean O’Malley, Sean O’Malley is fighting me, and nobody can help him.”
The one thing that has been the most consistent for Zahabi throughout his current winning streak, which began with a first-round knockout win over Drako Rodriguez in February 2021, halting a two-fight skid, has been his resolve and unshakable self-belief.
Though he’s a highly technical striker and one of the most defensively responsible fighters on the roster, it’s the work he’s done with his mental coach, “Mindset Mike” Moor, that has carried Zahabi through his toughest moments. Where other fighters would have cracked after getting dropped and dazed in the final round of an ultra-competitive fight with a legend like Aldo, Zahabi stayed focused, finding space and resetting before rallying to defeat the Brazilian standout at home in Montreal at UFC 315.
It’s that mental toughness and overall tenacity that he believes will be his advantage when he steps in with O’Malley next month.
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“I definitely have the hunger, (but) also coming off a seven-fight winning streak where he lost two in a row and then just won one recently, I feel like my mental state might be the edge in this fight,” said Zahabi. “I feel like we’re both highly skilled fighters— obviously, he’s a great fighter, a former champion — but when it comes to the mindset, mine will be unbreakable.”
And if his mindset and overall skill set aren’t enough on their own to carry him to victory, perhaps the unexpected secret weapon he and his brother have been discussing since the fight was announced will help swing things in his favor on June 14.
“It’s funny,” Zahabi said with a smile, discussing fighting outdoors for the first time in his career. “During training, my brother brought up a good point: at Tristar Gym, we don’t have any AC. In the summers, it’s extremely humid in Montreal, and he’s like, ‘You see? The last 20 years of training, when we didn’t have AC in this place, it was worth it! Now you’re fighting outside in Washington, where it’s humid, and you’re gonna be well prepared.’”
The bantamweight standout laughed, noting that he’s unwittingly been preparing for this moment his entire career.
He’s not wrong —it’s just that it’s been more about the 20 years of diligence than the lack of air conditioning in the third-floor gym on Ferrier Street.
Don't miss a moment of UFC Freedom 250 presented by Crypto.com and Ram, live from The White House in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, June 14. The historic event begins at 8pm ET/5pm PT and can be streamed live on Paramount+.