Tom Nolan and Fares Ziam meet on the UFC Fight Night 278 main card Saturday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
- Last event’s results: 4-1-1
- UFC main cards, 2026: 53-30-1
Tom Nolan vs. Fares Ziam UFC Fight Night 278 preview
Nolan (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) enters on a four-fight winning streak. Since losing his UFC debut, he’s been hot, most recently stopping Charlie Campbell in the first round in September.
Ziam (18-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) enters on a six-fight winning streak. His last outing was a second-round TKO stoppage win against Nazim Sadykhov in December.
Tom Nolan vs. Fares Ziam UFC Fight Night 278 expert pick, prediction
Filling out the main card is an interesting matchup between tall lightweights, Tom Noland and Fares Ziam.
Despite being on a six-fight winning streak and deserving ranked competition, Ziam will take an on-paper step backward to face the dangerous Nolan.
Nolan is a fun action fighter who knows how to fight to his frame, but the Australian lacks the athleticism and defense to make me confident in his overall ceiling (much less in this spot).
Although Nolan is also a newly minted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, I’m not sure how much success he’ll have grappling with a superior MMA wrestler and clinch fighter like Ziam.
🧵Fares Ziam, who faces Tom Nolan at #UFCVegas118, is 2-2 against UFC-level lefties (W: Puelles, Sadykhov; L: Madge, McKinney)
Ziam will actually jab and use his lead hand in conjunction with low kicks in open-stance affairs but seems to prefer countering. #TheSouthpawReportpic.twitter.com/VNUGLEpN87
— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) June 5, 2026
Add in the fact that Ziam traditionally strikes well against southpaws and has more experience with size parity matchups, and I can’t help but heavily favor the Frenchman here.
I’ll officially pick Ziam to tax Nolan’s defense and chin via a knockout along the fence in Round 2.
Tom Nolan vs. Fares Ziam UFC Fight Night 278 odds
The oddsmakers and the public favor the French fighter, listing Ziam -320 and Nolan +245 via FanDuel.
Tom Nolan vs. Fares Ziam UFC Fight Night 278 start time, how to watch
Noland and Ziam are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 9:10 p.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Vegas 118: Tom Nolan vs. Fares Ziam prediction, pick, time
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