UFC Fight Night Card Adds Fan-Friendly Scrap Featuring Divisional Dark Horse

The UFC Fight Night card scheduled for June 6 has added a fan-friendly lightweight clash that could see one rising contender break into the divisional rankings.

Set to take place at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, NV, UFC Vegas 118 is headlined by a welterweight bout between Gabriel Bonfim and former UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad, who is looking to return to the win column for the first time since he took the 170 lbs. strap from Leon Edwards in 2024.

The card isn’t exactly packed with major names as of yet, but Marcel Dorff reports that Fares Ziam is returning at the event to defend his #15 lightweight ranking against Tom Nolan in what should be an entertaining scrap.

Fares Ziam Gets Dangerous Matchup At UFC Vegas 118

A member of the UFC roster since 2019, Ziam made his Octagon debut at UFC 242 and saw a five-fight win streak come to a halt when he dropped a decision to Don Madge.

Jai Herbert (red gloves) fights Fares Ziam (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. | Per Haljestam-Imagn Images

Ziam rebounded with back-to-back wins before being submitted by Terrance McKinney, which brought his overall UFC record to 2-2. Three-straight wins by decision allowed the Frenchman to finally build some momentum before he brutally stopped Matt Frevola at the 2024 edition of UFC Paris, earning a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts.

Fares Ziam (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Nazim Sadykhov (red gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

“Smile Killer” kicked off 2025 by taking a unanimous decision over Mike Davis before he finished Nazim Sadykhov with strikes in his most recent outing, which brought his winning run to six fights.

Tom Nolan Earned "Performance Of The Night" Bonus For Last Win

Ziam will be tasked with defending his place in the lightweight Top 15 on June 6 when he meets Australia’s Nolan, who comes into the night riding a four-fight win streak.

His first finish in UFC was a BIG ONE 💥

Tom "Big Train" Nolan is looking to add another to his record book this weekend when he opens up the main card at #UFCPerth pic.twitter.com/Nasw3bR3Ze
— UFC (@ufc) September 24, 2025

The 26-year-old brought an undefeated record into a Dana White’s Contender Series fight with Bogdan Grad in 2023 and secured a UFC contract with a first-round finish. After being knocked out by Nikolas Motta in his promotional debut, Nolan stopped Victor Martinez with strikes and took back-to-back decisions over Alex Reyes and Viacheslav Borshchev.

Tom Nolan after submitting Charle Campbell at UFC Perth. | (Zuffa LLC)

The Australian earned his first post-fight bonus for submitting Charlie Campbell in the first round last September at UFC Perth, and now he’ll try to extend his winning run and break into the lightweight rankings when he takes on Ziam at UFC Vegas 118.

UFC Vegas 118 Fight Card

Main Event: Belal Muhammad vs. Gabriel Bonfim

Bruno Silva vs. Edgar Chairez

Brendan Allen vs. Edmen Shahbazyan

Iwo Baraniewski vs. Billy Elekana

Fares Ziam vs. Tom Nolan

Jeisla Chaves vs. Yuneisy Duben

Jordan Leavitt vs. Joanderson Brito

Ketlen Souza vs. Ariane Carnelossi

Matt Schnell vs. Imanol Rodriguez

Chelsea Chandler vs. Priscila Cachoeira

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