Nadia Kassem
Nadia Kassem (born 15 November 1995) is an Australian mixed martial artist and currently fights in the strawweight division. She has previously fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).[1]
| Nadia Kassem | |
|---|---|
 Kassem interviewed at UFC 234 | |
| Born | 15 November 1995 |
| Other names | 187 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Weight | 52 kg (115 lb; 8 st 3 lb) |
| Division | Strawweight |
| Style | Boxing, BJJ |
| Fighting out of | Wentworthville, Australia |
| Team | Australian Top Team |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 7 |
| Wins | 5 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Background
Kassem was born in Wentworthville, New South Wales, Australia. Kassem is of Lebanese descent. Her grandparents migrated from Lebanon to Australia in the 1970s.[2] She trained in Taekwondo and played rugby and softball when she was young. She was inspired by The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate TV series, but only started training MMA after watching her brother compete in grappling tournaments. Nadia started competing in amateur MMA not long after and turned pro. She had a record of 4–0 prior to signing with the UFC.[3]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Kassem fought in the Australian circuit under Urban Fight Night and Australia Regional promotion. She amassed an undefeated record of 4–0 prior to being signed by the UFC.[3]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Kassem was expected to make her promotional debut on 11 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt in Auckland, New Zealand against JJ Aldrich,[4][5] but was removed from the card, citing injury, and replaced by Chan-Mi Jeon.[6]
Kassem faced Alex Chambers at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura on 19 November 2017 in Sydney, Australia.[7] At the weight-ins, Kassem weighed in at 120 pounds, 4 pounds over the strawweight upper limit for non-title fights of 116 pounds. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Kassem forfeited 30% of her purse to Chambers.[8] She won the fight by unanimous decision.[9]
Kassem was scheduled to face Xiaonan Yan on 13 June 2018 at UFC Fight Night 132,[10] however, she was pulled from the event due to injury.[11]
Kassem faced Montana De La Rosa on 10 February 2019 at UFC 234. [12] She lost the fight via armbar in the second round.[12]
Kassem faced Ji Yeon Kim on 6 October 2019 at UFC 243.[13] At the weigh-ins, Kim weighed 128 pounds, 2 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit of 126. She was fined 30% of her purse, which went to her opponent Kassem. The bout proceeded at catchweight.[14] She lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.[15] Kassem faced heavy criticism due to faking a glove touch in the beginning of the opening round, despite being dropped seconds later.[16]
Kassem was scheduled to face Miranda Granger on August 8, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 174.[17]
On October 7, 2020 it was reported Kassem was released by UFC.[18]
Personal life
Her moniker "187" is the American police code for murder.[3]
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 7 matches | 5 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 1 |
| By submission | 0 | 1 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 5–2 | Ji Yeon Kim | KO (punch to the body) | UFC 243 | 6 October 2019 | 2 | 4:59 | Melbourne, Australia | Catchweight (128 lbs) bout; Kim missed weight. |
| Loss | 5–1 | Montana De La Rosa | Submission (armbar) | UFC 234 | 10 February 2019 | 2 | 2:37 | Melbourne, Australia | Return to Flyweight. |
| Win | 5–0 | Alex Chambers | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura | 19 November 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Sydney, Australia | Return to Strawweight; Kassem missed weight (120 lbs). |
| Win | 4–0 | Jasita Yotawan | TKO (kicks and punches) | JNI Promotions: 1 on 1 | 24 February 2017 | 1 | 1:27 | Hurstville, Australia | Won the JNI Promotions Flyweight Championship. |
| Win | 3–0 | Leigha Aurisch | TKO (kicks and punches) | Urban Fight Night 9: Fight of the Nations | 3 December 2016 | 1 | 0:19 | Liverpool, Australia | Won the UFN Strawweight Championship. |
| Win | 2–0 | Belinda Sedgewick | KO (spinning back fist) | Urban Fight Night 5 | 12 December 2015 | 1 | 0:10 | Liverpool, Australia | Flyweight debut. |
| Win | 1–0 | Jiang Zhu | KO (punch) | JNI Promotions: The Century | 28 August 2015 | 1 | 0:26 | Hurstville, Australia |
See also
References
- "Nadia Kassem ("187")". Tapology. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- Hannoun, Farah (3 November 2017). "Nadia Kassem Looking To Use Her 'High Aggression Rate' To Take Out Alex Chambers At UFC Sydney". The Sports Journal. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- "Interview: Nadia Kassem signs multi-fight contract with UFC and is ready to start with a bang". Fight News Australia. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- "UFC Auckland: Kassem books fight with TUF alumni Aldrich". Fight News Australia. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- "Meet Australia's newest UFC fighter". Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- "19-year-old Chan-Mi Jeon replaces Nadia Kassem next week at UFC Fight Night 110". MMAjunkie. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
- DNA, MMA (24 August 2017). "Alex Chambers keert eindelijk terug tegen Nadia Kassem tijdens UFC Sydney". MMA DNA. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- "UFC Fight Night 121 official weigh-in results: Headliner set, but four fighters heavy". MMAjunkie. 18 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- "UFC Fight Night 121 results: Nadia Kassem goes the distance to top gritty Alex Chambers". MMAjunkie. 19 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- DNA, MMA. "Australian Top Team vechters te bewonderen tijdens UFC Singapore". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- DNA, MMA. "Viviane Pereira pakt short notice partij tegen Yan Xiaonan tijdens UFC Singapore". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- "Nadia Kassem to face Montana De La Rosa at UFC 234". www.news.com.au. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- DNA, MMA. "Tuivasa vs. Spivak en Kassem vs. Kim toegevoegd aan UFC 243 in Melbourne". Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- "UFC 243 weigh-in results: Two miss weight, but Whittaker vs. Adesanya official". MMA Junkie. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- Anderson, Jay (5 October 2019). "UFC 243 Results: Ji Yeon Kim's Pressure Overwhelms Nadia Kassem". Cageside Press. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
- "Ji Yeon Kim: Keeping Calm And Punching On | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- Redactie (19 September 2020). "BREAKING: Miranda Granger vs. Nadia Kassem added to UFC event on August 8". MMADNA. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- Martin, Damon (2 October 2020). "UFC releases Ben Sosoli after receiving 22-month jail sentence; Nadia Kassem, Dequan Townsend also cut". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 7 October 2020.