From his first MMA sessions, Laïd Zerhouni felt that “this sport was made for me”. No small wonder coming from the youngest of a family of fighters, who started boxing as a teenager to follow in the footsteps of his brothers. Since then, the passion has not left him.
“I knew very quickly that I wanted to try for a career in the sport. So I put my mind to it. I never do things by halves.”
Physical trainer, nutritionist, physiotherapist, osteopath… In keeping with his ambitions, the 27-year-old from Montpellier has therefore chosen to surround himself with a battery of specialists to leave nothing to chance.
“From a certain point, it becomes essential. But it is through fighting that we realise this: We fail and we learn. “
His working life has also been built around his fighting: “I have chosen jobs that I can work around my sport: I have done delivery, security, I was a grocer. But today, I can focus very seriously on MMA. “

“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done because I love it”

Laïd Zerhouni’s career has not been free of “bad choices”, such as accepting fights at 48 hours notice, but he says, “Everything I did, I did because I like it. Even mistakes kept me going.”
This winning mentality translates into an impressive record of ten victories, including nine finishes.
“I’m very aggressive. That’s what characterises me. When I fight, I come to put on a show. You have to please the audience! “
His last appearance in the cage, which ended with a victory by submission in the first round, is proof of that. But far from being satisfied, Zerhouni is looking forward to the next part of his story, which will see him compete for the HEXAGONE MMA middleweight belt on September 7 in Nantes.
“My goal is to compete against the best in the world, to eventually be the best. Each fight brings me closer to that goal. “