Zarah Fairn dos Santos (born December 10, 1986) is a French female

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

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

and

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

divisions 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 ( ...

Early life

Fairn was born in

Salvador, Bahia Salvador () is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality and capital city of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognize ...

, Brazil to a Moroccan father and Brazilian mother. She started training in boxing at the age of 12 under her father who was a boxer. At 14 she moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France joining a brother who was a professional basketball player there. She has a master's degree in social education and sport and a license in sports law.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Fairn faced future

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

title challenger

Sinead Kavanagh Sinead Kavanagh is an Irish female mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Bellator MMA. Fight Matrix had her ranked at #10 in Women's Featherweight from April 2021 till July 2021, and March 2022. She is currently r ...

at BAMMA 24: Ireland vs. England on February 26, 2016. She lost the close bout via split decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Fairn faced Megan Anderson on October 6, 2019, at

UFC 243 ''UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 6, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Background The event was the fourth th ...

. She lost the fight by first-round submission. Fairn faced

Felicia Spencer Felicia Dawn Spencer (born January 7, 1980) is a Canadian former mixed martial artist. She is the former Invicta FC Featherweight champion and formally competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Spen ...

on February 29, 2020, at

UFC Fight Night 169 ''UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 169'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 27'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 29, 2020 at Chartway Arena i ...

. She lost by first-round TKO. Fairn was scheduled to face

Josiane Nunes Josiane Nunes (born December 23, 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA fighter since 2013, she has competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions. Mixed martial ...

on April 17, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Gastelum. Fairn weighed in at 147 pounds, eight pounds over the 139-pound catchweight limit. (The bantamweight fight was moved to a catchweight prior to the start of the weigh-ins.) The bout against Nunes was canceled due to the weight discrepancy after Nunes weighed in at 136 pounds. Fairn was scheduled to face Joselyne Edwards on August 28, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze, but the fight was canceled in late July when Edwards was removed from the event for another bout. Fairn was scheduled to face

Ailín Pérez Ailín Luciana Pérez (born 5 October 1994) is an Argentinian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 6 May 2025, she is #7 in the UFC wome ...

on September 3, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 209 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 209'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 3, 2022, at Accor Arena in Paris, Fra ...

, but was pulled from the event and replaced by Stephanie Egger. The match between Fairn and Nunes was rescheduled for January 21, 2023, at

UFC 283 ''UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 21, 2023, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event marked the promotion's return ...

. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Fairn was scheduled to face Hailey Cowan on September 2, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 226 ''UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Spivac'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 226'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 84'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 2, 2023, at the Accor Arena in Paris, ...

. However Cowan was forced out of the event due to an injury, and she was replaced by Jacqueline Cavalcanti. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. On September 14, it was announced that Fairn was no longer on the UFC roster.

Post UFC Career

In her first fight since leaving the UFC, Fairn would face Brazilian Gisele Moreira at Ares FC 22 on 14 June 2024. She would lose the fight succumbing to a rear-naked choke in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

*Cage Warriors Academy South East **CWSE Bantamweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–4 ,

, TKO (punches and elbows) , UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:37 ,

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

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, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:57 ,

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, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Izabela Badurek , TKO (punches) , Ladies Fight Night 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:55 ,

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Suvi Salmimies , Decision (unanimous) , Cage 40 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Kerry Hughes , TKO (punches) , British Challenge MMA 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:53 ,

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–2 ,

, Decision (split) , BAMMA 24: Kone Vs. Phillips , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Liubov Belyakova , TKO (punches) , W.I.N. FC , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

, China , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Marion Nicolai , Decision (unanimous) , Gladiator Fighting Arena 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

, France , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Elina Nilsson , Decision (unanimous) , The Zone FC 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Helin Paara , TKO (corner stoppage) , MMA Raju 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:00 ,

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, Estonia ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairn, Zarah 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Salvador, Bahia Martial artists from Bahia French female mixed martial artists Brazilian female mixed martial artists Brazilian emigrants to France French people of Brazilian descent French sportspeople of Moroccan descent Brazilian people of Moroccan descent Bantamweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters 21st-century French sportswomen 21st-century Brazilian sportswomen