Xander Zayas is taking this unification with Abass Baraou for one simple reason. He believes he can beat him, and that belief comes from the sparring he had with him in the gym.
Zayas and Baraou have shared rounds before. Zayas came away convinced he had the edge. That matters more to him than anything Baraou did on fight night, including the win over Yoenis Tellez last summer. He is not guessing. He thinks he already understands how this fight plays out.
This is likely to be a tactical and ugly fight. Zayas has shown he is comfortable tying opponents up whenever they get close, limiting their ability to land cleanly before resetting the distance. He did exactly that in his last fight against Jorge Garcia Perez last July, using clinches and short breaks to keep the bout from opening up.
There is little reason to expect a different approach here. When Baraou steps into range, Zayas is likely to grab, lean, and force the referee to separate them. It is not crowd-pleasing, but it serves its purpose. The goal is to stop momentum before it starts.
If Baraou’s team has prepared properly, they will have worked on fighting through the clinches. Fighters are allowed to keep throwing while being held, but many do not. They pause. They wait for the referee. That passivity is exactly what Zayas relies on.
Garcia Perez fell into that trap. Each time he was tied up, he stopped working and waited for the break. Those moments added up. The rounds slipped away.
Baraou cannot afford the same mistake. If he accepts the clinch without answering back, Zayas will gladly reset and repeat the pattern. If he wants this fight to change, he has to force it himself. Otherwise, it will unfold exactly the way Zayas expects.
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Last Updated on 01/15/2026
