Youssef Boughanem Faces Mohamed Soumah at ARES 44 in Strasbourg
The highly anticipated mixed martial arts event takes place on Saturday at the Zénith de Strasbourg with a stacked fight card.
Combat sports fans will turn their attention to the Zénith de Strasbourg this Saturday for ARES 44, an action-packed mixed martial arts event featuring a co-main event clash between Youssef Boughanem and Mohamed Soumah. The evening promises high-level striking as two veterans with extensive backgrounds in striking disciplines transition their skills into the MMA cage.
Youssef Boughanem, a 36-year-old combat sports legend who boasts 24 world titles in Muay Thai and kickboxing along with more than 200 fights and roughly a hundred knockouts, enters the bout undefeated in his MMA career. Having started his professional mixed martial arts journey in 2024, Boughanem holds a 5-0 record with all five victories coming before the final bell. This weekend marks his official debut under the ARES banner.
Across the cage stands Mohamed Soumah, a 28-year-old kickboxing specialist carrying a professional MMA record of 4-3. Like his opponent, Soumah holds a powerful finishing instinct, having secured all four of his professional mixed martial arts wins by knockout or technical knockout. Analysts note that while both competitors possess elite striking credentials, neither has heavily showcased grappling or wrestling in past appearances, making ground skills a potential turning point.
The main event of the evening features bantamweight champion Aboubakar Younousov defending his title against UFC veteran Tyson Nam. Younousov brings an undefeated 8-0 record into the cage, having secured five finishes in his eight professional bouts. Meanwhile, the 43-year-old Nam enters the promotion with significant high-level experience from his five stints in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, bringing a heavy-handed reputation and 16 finishes by knockout to the matchup.
The event card also highlights several regional talents looking to shine in front of a home crowd. Local favorite Bilal Bakhouche-Chareuf puts his undefeated 3-0 record on the line against Daniel Rodrigues in the welterweight division, aiming to continue his aggressive finishing style. Additional regional representation includes Haguenau native Maher Belkhadir facing Marc-Philippe Ngatchou in the lightweight division during the preliminary bouts.
Fans wishing to watch the action can tune in through multiple broadcasting channels. Preliminary bouts kick off at 7:30 PM local time and will be streamed live on the Canal+ Sport Twitch channel. The main card transitions to television broadcast on Canal+ Sport 360 starting at 8:30 PM or 9:30 PM depending on the segment, with the Boughanem versus Soumah co-main event expected to take place between 9:30 PM and 10:00 PM.