Pannie Kianzad landed on the wrong side of the results in each of her first two UFC appearances, falling to Macy Chiasson in the featherweight finale on Season 28 of The Ultimate Fighter before dropping a decision to Julia Avila seven months later after earning a victory on the regional circuit in between.
Since then, however, the 29-year-old has turned a corner, stringing together three straight victories heading into her intriguing preliminary card clash with Alexis Davis this weekend in Glendale.
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Working behind smooth, technical striking, Kianzad has posted consecutive wins over Jessica-Rose Clark, Bethe Correia, and Sijara Eubanks to run her record to 15-5 and earn a place in the bantamweight rankings. She’s a quality athlete who moves fluidly in the cage and really seems to be putting everything together after being an intriguing talent with inconsistent results earlier in her career.
A former title challenger and veteran of the sport, Davis returned to the bantamweight division earlier this year with a unanimous decision win over Sabina Mazo and stands as a perfect step up in competition for the streaking Kianzad on Saturday. She’s tougher than a three-dollar steak and always down to scrap, which means “Banzai” will need to be at her best if she wants to extend her winning streak to four and take another step forward in the 135-pound weight class.