Pannie Pantea Kianzad (born December 8, 1991) is an Iranian-born Swedish

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

in the Women's Bantamweight division, having previously fought in

Invicta FC Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

and

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under ...

where she held the bantamweight title.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kianzad started her martial arts career in boxing when she was around 14 years old and she went on to compete in around 30 amateur boxing fights. In 2010, she competed in the Swedish National Championships in

Shootfighting Shootfighting is a martial art and combat sport, with competitions governed by the International Shootfighting Association (ISFA). It incorporates techniques from a multitude of traditional martial arts, the most principal of these being wrestlin ...

and came in second place claiming the silver medal after losing to Lina Länsberg in the final. The following year, at 19 years of age, she became Swedish Champion in Shootfighting by defeating Genesini Serena by submission (armbar) in the second round. After turning professional she beat her swedish rival Lina Länsberg in her third fight, which she won by TKO. She racked up five straight wins in smaller organizations before getting signed to

. During this period she transitioned from team Kaisho in

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, to Rumble Sports in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. As of 2016 Kianzad trains with Arte Suave team in

Cage Warriors.

In 2014 Kianzad signed with British top promotion

. She made her promotional debut against Megan van Houtum on August 22, 2014, at Cage Warriors 71. She won the fight by TKO in the third round. Kianzad was expected to face Agnieszka Niedzwiedz for the vacant bantamweight title on November 15, 2014, at Cage Warriors 74, but Niedzwiedz was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury and Kianzad's opponent was changed to be Finnish fighter Eeva Siiskonen. After five rounds Kianzad defeated Siiskonen by unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 49–46) to become Cage Warriors female bantamweight champion.

Invicta Fighting Championship

After staying undefeated through her first 7 fights, and claiming the Cage Warriors title, Kianzad got another step up in her career as she got signed by

in March, 2015. She made her promotional debut against Jessica-Rose Clark on July 9, 2015, at Invicta FC 13. Kianzad won the fight by one-sided unanimous decision. Kianzad was set to face newly crowned champion Tonya Evinger in a title fight on September 14, 2015, at Invicta FC 14. However, Kianzad missed weight for the fight so it was changed to a non-title bout. She lost by TKO in the second round. She fought

Raquel Pa'aluhi Raquel Pa'aluhi Canuto (born October 14, 1990) is an American Brazilian jiu-jitsu grappler and former mixed martial artist. Canuto was awarded her Black Belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by her coach Robert Drysdale. Raquel is the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2 ...

on January 14, 2017, at Invicta FC 21. She lost the fight by submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round. Kianzad faced Sarah Kaufman on January 13, 2018, at Invicta FC 27. At weight-ins, Kianzad weighted 136.7 Ibs, missing 0.7 Ibs of the upper limit in bantamweight of 136 Ibs. Kianzad was fined twenty five percent of her fight purse for missing weight. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kianzad fought Bianca Daimoni on May 4, 2018, at Invicta FC 29. At weight-ins, Kianzad weighted 134.8 lbs while Daimoni weighted 139.6, missing 3.6 lbs of the upper limit in bantamweight of 136 lbs and the bout proceeded at catchweight. Daimoni was fined twenty five percent of her fight purse for missing weight Kianzad won the fight via unanimous decision. About a month later she fought Kerry Hughes on June 9, 2018, at Danish MMA Night 1. Kianzad had a dominant performance and won by unanimous decision.

The Ultimate Fighter 28

In August 2018 Kianzad's sponsor Combat Dollies revealed that she had been selected as a fighter on The Ultimate Fighter 28, where she would compete at featherweight. Kianzad was the fourth pick (second among featherweights) by coach

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum earned a contract with the UFC after winning '' The ...

. She fought

Katharina Lehner Katharina Lehner (born April 9, 1990) is a German mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division. She has also previously fought in Bellator MMA and Invicta FC. She fought Sarah Kaufman (fighter), Sarah ...

in the quarter-finals of the tournament. She won the fight by unanimous decision. In the semi-finals of the tournament, Kianzad was paired up against Julija Stoliarenko. She won the fight by unanimous decision, securing a spot in the finals.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Kianzad faced Macy Chiasson in the finals on November 30, 2018, at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale. She lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in round two. Kianzad did not receive a contract from UFC after her loss at TUF 28 Finale.

Post-UFC career

In her return to the European scene, Kianzad dropped back down to the bantamweight division and faced Bellator veteran Iony Razafiarison on May 11, 2019, at Super Challenge 19. She won the fight by unanimous decision.

Return to Ultimate Fighting Championship

Kianzad replaced Melissa Gatto in a short notice bout against Julia Avila on July 6, 2019, at UFC 239. She lost the fight by unanimous decision. Kianzad faced Jessica-Rose Clark in a re-match on November 9, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 163. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Kianzad was scheduled to face Bethe Correia on May 9, 2020, at

UFC 249 ''UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was originally planned to ...

. However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date The bout eventually took place on July 26, 2020, at UFC on ESPN 14. Kianzad won the fight via unanimous decision. Kianzad entered the UFC rankings for the first time in her career after her win over #13 ranked Correia. Kianzad faced Sijara Eubanks on December 19, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 183. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Kianzad faced on Alexis Davis June 12, 2021, at UFC 263. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Kianzad faced Raquel Pennington on September 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 192. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kianzad faced Lina Länsberg on April 16, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 34. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Kianzad faced

Ketlen Vieira Ketlen Vieira da Silva (born 26 August 1991) is a Brazilian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who currently competes in the women's Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 8 ...

on July 22, 2023, at UFC on ESPN+ 82. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Kianzad faced Macy Chiasson in a rematch on March 16, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 239. She lost the bout by rear-naked choke submission in the first round. In June 2024, Kianzad was added to '' EA Sports UFC 5''. Kianzad faced Karol Rosa on August 10, 2024 at UFC on ESPN 61. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. On August 28, 2024, it was reported that Kianzad was removed from the UFC roster. She was ranked 12th in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings in August 2024 at the time of removal from the UFC roster. Kianzad's highest career UFC ranking was 6th in the women's bantamweight division, achieved on July 4, 2023, while her highest

Fight Matrix Fight Matrix is a mixed martial arts ranking system portal. It is one of the sport's most recognized ranking websites. Software According to website, "The rankings on this site are software generated, produced by a proprietary engine (CIRRS � ...

ranking was 3rd, achieved on July 1, 2021.

Global Fight League

On December 11, 2024, it was announced that Kianzad had signed with Global Fight League. On January 24, 2025, Kianzad was drafted by Team London in the inaugural edition of Global Fight League. However, in April 2025, it was reported that all GFL events were cancelled indefinitely.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

**First ever

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

female UFC fighter ** The Ultimate Fighter 28 (Runner-Up) * Invicta Fighting Championships ** Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Bianca Daimoni * Cage Warriors Fighting Championship ** CWFC Women's Bantamweight Championship (One time) **Undefeated in the CWFC (2-0) *Nordic MMA Awards - MMAViking.com **2013 Female Fighter of the Year **2018 Female Fighter of the Year **2020 Female Fighter of the Year

Shootfighting

*Swedish Shootfighting League **2010 National Women's Featherweight Shootfighting Championship **2011 National Women's Featherweight Shootfighting Championship

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kianzad, Pannie 1991 births Sportspeople from Ahvaz Living people Swedish female mixed martial artists Iranian female mixed martial artists Swedish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Iranian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing shootfighting Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Cage Warriors champions Iranian emigrants to Sweden Sportspeople of Iranian descent Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters Iranian refugees 21st-century Swedish sportswomen