Tuesday was a night of mixed emotions for Rami Hamed (13-3 MMA). The Lebanese welterweight defeated Meng Ding, his most experienced opponent yet, via unanimous decision on the Contender Series but was not awarded a UFC contract after the other four victors finished their bouts.
Hamed has had four knee surgeries and fought for the first time since December 2022. He said it felt “awesome” to return after nearly two years away and defeat someone like Ding. Hamed said he was expecting some ring rust, but the pace Ding pushed gave him no time to think about it.
“It felt like I had fought yesterday,” Hamed told MMASucka. “It didn’t feel like I had been away from the cage for a long time. It didn’t feel like I was feeling some kind of issues from not being there. I’ve been training all those years. I’ve been getting better every single day. If I’m not competing, it doesn’t mean I was just sitting in the back and doing nothing but waiting. I was improving my striking skills, working my wrestling, working my jiu-jitsu. I honestly felt one of the most comfortable I’ve ever felt in the cage.”
Ding’s fight with Hamed was the 43rd of his professional career. Hamed’s second most experienced foe at the time of their fight was Jose Caceres, who had 20 official fights when they fought twice in 2018 (the first fight ended in a no contest).
Hamed said he always believed in his skills and was not intimidated by Ding’s experience advantage.
“I always knew I had the ability to beat anybody with any amount of fights,” he said. “It was just good for me to showcase that to the rest of the MMA community and show them that even guys like Meng Ding wouldn’t be able to beat me, even on such short notice. I know I’m the best striker in the world, and Tuesday was just another showcase of that.”
Hamed said it felt good to return after a long layoff and fight someone as “tough” as Ding and show people he could beat veterans of the sport on short notice.
“Unfortunately, I knew this might not be seen in that way, because the show is built for people to get finishes,” Hamed said. “I was really hoping the fact that this guy was a veteran; some fights just can’t be finished all the time. You can’t finish all the fights. Sometimes, it just happens to be that way. I was hoping I would get the contract. It’s almost like bittersweet, but at the end of the day, it’s a win on a big show and that’s all that matters.”
Hamed outstruck Ding, employing a stick-and-move strategy and landing lots of kicks to keep Ding guessing.
Hamed said his training for the fight featured a focus on muscle building, and after time out of the cage, he had to fight “really smart” against Ding to win.
“I had to pick my shots. I had to play a chess game. I know sometimes, checkers is what [the UFC] wants. At the end of the day, I’m a smart fighter, and I had to fight and find a way to win it given the circumstances. Next time I’ll be more ready and more prepared. Hopefully, I’ll have some time to study my opponent, too, so I don’t have to think of things on the fly while trying to manage my energy and do all those things together. I showed that I could do it. Hopefully one more fight this year, regardless of where it is, will be enough to get me in the big show.”
Hamed said fighting one more time in 2024 is his priority, even if it is not on the Contender Series again this summer.
“It might be some show abroad. It might be some local show here. It might be the Contender Series. Or who knows? It might be short notice for the UFC,” Hamed said. “I’m just going to stay ready, be in shape and represent myself even better next time.”
Hamed said he has been ready for UFC-caliber opponents for “a long time now.”
“I know sometimes that knockouts are what they want. I have nine of them out of 13 wins. That’s a very high percentage.”
He said he feels the UFC brass knows that some fights can’t be finished.
“I did what I felt was smart. Honestly, any other guy besides Meng Ding with a little less experience and a little less durability would have went out from the many shots I landed on him,” Hamed said. “I think they know how capable I am to show up and fight on even such short notice. Hopefully, one more fight will be more than enough to prove my point that I’m ready to compete with the best and be at the top of their list.”
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