Zarah Fairn

Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Zarah Fairn dos Santos
BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Cavalcanti (-375), Fairn dos Santos (+295)

Round 1
Come l’enfer ou hautes eaux, the promotion was going to put on more than 10 fights on this card, no matter what it had to do with the matchups already on the table. With eight of the 11 pairings on the billing containing at least one French fighter, the deck is stacked for local fight fans to get their money’s worth. We begin with a catchweight contest of 140 pounds, between two women who could not safely reach the bantamweight limit in time. After a bit of struggle, Paris-based Fairn (6-5, 0-3 UFC) managed to make the 140-pound cap, while her debuting Portuguese opponent Cavalcanti (5-1, 0-0 UFC) was all smiles on the scales. Someone here has to earn their first UFC victory, and referee Rich Mitchell will be there every step of the way. The first fight of the early afternoon card – for stateside audiences on the east coast – kicks off with a touch of gloves. Fairn takes to the center of the cage, where she paws out jabs and a right hand to follow one in order to find her range. The newcomer skirts along the outside, and she slaps a few leg kicks out while also swiping with a jab or two. The crowd booms in favor of Fairn, making sure to voice support for the French woman, and she continues moving forward aggressively. Cavalcanti chops at her from the outer edge of the cage, and she swats away the two-punch combos that aim her way. Neither woman engages with much of note, as they are tossing out pitter-patter strikes with very little on them. Fairn continues to plod forward, and Cavalcanti stays on her bike, poking out with low kicks here and there. Fairn follows her and swings, but she cannot find her target cleanly. Cavalcanti parries the punches and kicks the lead leg, and she mixes things up with a front kick. Fairn struggles to reach her foe with her fists, and Cavalcanti hand-fights to defend the majority of the punches that come her way. The Portuguese fighter turns her hips into a few heavier leg kicks, and the former kickboxer Fairn is doing nothing to check or counter them. Cavalcanti connects with a pair of punches, and Fairn pushes off to break up the combination and her fingers jam into both eye sockets of Cavalcanti at the same time. Mitchell calls time to allow Cavalcanti to recover from the Three Stooges-esque double eye poke, and he calls in the doctor to bring in a towel to allow her to wipe her eyes out. Cavalcanti is taking the time she needs to recover instead of rushing things, ignoring the jeers and whistles from the partisan crowd. After about half the time of the five-minute recovery period elapses, the doctor clears her to continue, and Cavalcanti is good to go. There is no apology glove touch offered from the French woman, who instead engages out of the gate by putting her foot on the gas. Mitchell warns Fairn again for her outstretched fingers, and Cavalcanti darts away from the flurries and largely avoids them until the horn sounds.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Cavalcanti
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Cavalcanti
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Cavalcanti
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Round 2
The second round opens with a more aggressive Fairn, who keeps busy with jabs and reaching push kicks. Mitchell informs the Portuguese fighter to close her fists now, as both women are leading with their fingers pointed at their targets. Fairn catches her foe at the end of a right hand, countering a low kick. Fairn does not change her approach much, with the same patterns and movements that Cavalcanti has picked up on already. Cavalcanti continues to pepper her with frustrating leg kicks, and she strafes to the side to evade the lion’s share of what “Infinite” slings her way. Fairn walks forward swinging a right hand, and Cavalcanti responds with a slapping left hand. The most effective strikes of the fight so far are Cavalcanti’s kicks, as neither land with anything noteworthy with their fists. Cavalcanti closes the distance and suddenly tags Fairn with a crisp combination, and Fairn looks to bully her back but hits nothing but air. Cavalcanti pops the Frenchwoman with another few kicks, and Fairn’s methodical jab is not able to get any respect. Cavalcanti loops a right hand over the guard, and she stings Fairn and throws the same strike two more times. Fairn shakes it off and gets back into her slow, inaccurate groove, seemingly stuck in first gear. Cavalcanti strings a few punches into a leg kick, and Fairn grabs hold of her to set up a clinch or potential takedown. Cavalcanti shrugs it off and resets, and she chops down the lead leg of her opponent from both sides. The kicks force Fairn to preemptively raise her lead leg, and the round ends.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Cavalcanti
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Cavalcanti
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Cavalcanti

Round 3
Cavalcanti leads the dance in the third round, moving right to the middle of the Octagon to strike with jabs and leg kicks. Fairn flails back with impunity, and she ends up walking into the chopping kicks that continue to work on her lead wheel. As the commentary booth loses interest in the matchup, the three men of John Gooden, Michael Bisping and Paul Felder begin to discuss their favorite sandwich – ending up settling on breakfast sandwiches with bacon and chipotle sauce as their top idea. All the while, the 140-pound ladies continue their slow, unhazardous kickboxing match, where there seems to be very little zip on any strikes. Fairn does not change her strategy, allowing Cavalcanti to pick away at her and counter her with small but scoring strikes. When Fairn lunges with a jab, Cavalcanti has a right hand read to smack her in the cheek. Cavalcanti uses head movement to make Fairn miss, and the accuracy rate of the Frenchwoman is likely very low in this contest. Fairn, with little options, moves forward into a clinch. Cavalcanti allows her to do this so that she can bust Fairn in the chops with several clean uppercuts. Fairn lets go of the grip and rebounds off the cage wall, and she is stuck eating shots while Cavalcanti slips the responses. Fairn reaches her with a right hand, and Cavalcanti keeps her guard high as the crowd gives it up for the briefly aggressive Fairn. This surge slows, as Fairn’s left eye begins to swell from the constant right hands she eats. Fairn shoots in for an ill-advised takedown, and Cavalcanti stuffs it with ease and moves around to take her back standing. Fairn shucks her way out of the body control, and Cavalcanti lays into her with a few more punches. The fight ends, and barring an extreme miscarriage of justice, France will be down 0-1 against the world today.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Cavalcanti (30-27 Cavalcanti)
Brian Knapp scores the round: 10-9 Cavalcanti (30-27 Cavalcanti)
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Cavalcanti (30-27 Cavalcanti)

The Official Result
Jacqueline Cavalcanti def. Zarah Fairn via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)