# David Zawada

David Zawada (born 1 August 1990) is a German mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional since 2010, he has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), and Respect FC where he is the former Welterweight Champion.

## Background

Zawada trains at UFD Gym in Düsseldorf where he trains alongside Roberto Soldić, Erko Jun, Antun Racic and his brother, Martin Zawada.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Early career

Zawada participated in various regional MMA promotions, notable in KSW primarily in the Europe. He was the formal welterweight Respect Fighting Championship and Shooto Kings champion. He amassed a record of 16–3 prior signed by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Zawada made his UFC debut on July 22, 2018, against Danny Roberts, replacing injured Alan Jouban at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith. He lost the fight via split decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.
His next faced Li Jingliang on November 24, 2018, replacing Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round three.
Zawada faced Abubakar Nurmagomedov on November 9, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 21. He won the fight via a submission in round one. This fight earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Zawada was scheduled to face Anthony Rocco Martin on April 25, 2020. However, on April 9, the promotion indicated that the pairing was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zawada was expected to face Mounir Lazzez on October 18, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 180. However, on October 6, 2020 it was reported that Lazzez tested positive for COVID-19 and was removed from the bout. It is unclear at the stage if a replacement would be sought by the UFC officials.
Zawada faced Ramazan Emeev on January 16, 2021 at UFC on ABC 1. He lost a close fight by split decision.
Zawada was scheduled to face Sergey Khandozhko on September 4, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 191. However, the week before the event, Khandozhko was pulled from the contest for unknown reasons and replaced by Alex Morono. Zawada lost the fight via unanimous decision.
On February 10, 2022, it was announced that Zawada was no longer on the UFC roster.

### Professional Fighters League

Zawada made his first appearance after his UFC release against Erhan Kartal on June 4, 2022 at Oktagon 33. He won the bout via doctor stoppage after the first round.
Zawada faced Carlos Leal on April 14, 2023 at PFL 3. He lost the bout in the first round via TKO stoppage.
Zawada faced Magomed Magomedkerimov on June 23, 2023 at PFL 6. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

### Oktagon MMA

Zawada returned to Oktagon MMA on February 10, 2024 at Oktagon 53, defeating Hojat Khajevand in his Middleweight debut via heel hook at the end of the third round after being down on the scorecards for the bout.
Zawada faced Marek Mazuch on June 8, 2024 at Oktagon 58, losing via knockout early in the first round.

## Championships and accomplishments
### Mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov
** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Danny Roberts
** UFC.com Awards
*** 2019: Ranked #10 Submission of the Year vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov
* MMAJunkie.com
** 2019 November Submission of the Month vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov
* Respect Fighting Championship
** 2016 Respect FC welterweight champion
* Shooto Kings
** 2016 Shooto Kings welterweight champion

## Personal life

Zawada older brother, Martin Zawada, is also a MMA fighter for the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki promotion.

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 30 matches | 19 wins | 11 losses |
| By knockout | 12 | 6 |
| By submission | 5 | 1 |
| By decision | 2 | 4 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 19–11 | Matěj Peňáz | TKO (knee and punches) | Oktagon 66 | February 1, 2025 | 1 | 4:42 | Düsseldorf, Germany | Oktagon Middleweight Tournament Round of 16. |
| Loss | 19–10 | Marek Mazuch | KO (punches) | Oktagon 58 | June 8, 2024 | 1 | 1:15 | Prague, Czech Republic | |
| Win | 19–9 | Hojat Khajevand | Submission (heel hook) | Oktagon 53 | February 10, 2024 | 3 | 4:24 | Oberhausen, Germany | Middleweight debut. |
| Loss | 18–9 | Magomed Magomedkerimov | TKO (punches) | PFL 6 (2023) | June 23, 2023 | 1 | 3:54 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
| Loss | 18–8 | Carlos Leal | TKO (punches) | PFL 3 (2023) | April 14, 2023 | 1 | 2:25 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 18–7 | Erhan Kartal | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Oktagon 33 | June 4, 2022 | 1 | 5:00 | Frankfurt, Germany | |
| Loss | 17–7 | Alex Morono | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till | September 4, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 17–6 | Ramazan Emeev | Decision (split) | UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar | January 16, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 17–5 | Abubakar Nurmagomedov | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar | November 9, 2019 | 1 | 2:50 | Moscow, Russia | Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 16–5 | Li Jingliang | KO (body kick) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2 | November 24, 2018 | 3 | 4:07 | Beijing, China | |
| Loss | 16–4 | Danny Roberts | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Smith | July 22, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Hamburg, Germany | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 16–3 | Michał Michalski | Submission (rear-naked choke) | KSW 43 | April 14, 2018 | 3 | 0:48 | Wrocław, Poland | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 15–3 | Maciej Jewtuszko | Decision (unsnimous) | KSW 40 | October 22, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Dublin, Ireland | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 14–3 | Andreas Ståhl | TKO (punches) | German MMA Championship 11 | April 22, 2017 | 1 | 1:24 | Castrop-Rauxel, Germany | |
| Win | 13–3 | Robert Radomski | TKO (punches) | KSW 37 | December 3, 2016 | 1 | 1:24 | Kraków, Poland | |
| Win | 12–3 | Stefan Larisch | KO (punches) | Respect FC 16 | April 9, 2016 | 1 | 0:30 | Cologne, Germany | Won the Respect FC Welterweight Championship. |
| Loss | 11–3 | Kamil Szymuszowski | Decision (split) | KSW 33 | July 7, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Kraków, Poland | |
| Win | 11–2 | Stefan Sekulić | TKO (punches) | Serbian Battle Championship 6 | September 19, 2015 | 2 | 2:24 | Vojvodina, Serbia | |
| Win | 10–2 | Aldin Osmančević | TKO (punches) | Montenegro FC 3 | July 27, 2015 | 1 | 0:47 | Budva, Montenegro | |
| Loss | 9–2 | Borys Mańkowski | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | KSW 29 | July 7, 2014 | 1 | 1:20 | Kraków, Poland | For the KSW Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–1 | Sebastian Risch | TKO (doctor stoppage) | German MMA Championship 5 | September 13, 2014 | 1 | 2:39 | Castrop-Rauxel, Germany | |
| Win | 8–1 | Luca Vitali | KO (punch) | Swiss MMA Championship 1 | December 1, 2013 | 2 | 0:48 | Basel, Switzerland | |
| Loss | 7–1 | Djamil Chan | KO (knees) | Respect FC 9 | July 7, 2013 | 1 | 1:34 | Dormagen, Germany | For the Respect FC Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–0 | Kerim Engizek | Decision (majority) | Superior FC 11 | September 15, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Düren, Germany | |
| Win | 6–0 | Egny Borges | Submission (guillotine choke) | Superior FC 10 | June 2, 2012 | 1 | 1:04 | Mainz, Germany | |
| Win | 5–0 | Garcia Chambe | TKO (corner stoppage) | Superior FC 9 | March 31, 2012 | 1 | 4:37 | Göppingen, Germany | |
| Win | 4–0 | Maurice Skrober | TKO (corner stoppage) | Superior FC 8 | February 4, 2012 | 1 | 4:50 | Mainz, Germany | |
| Win | 3–0 | Florian Ziebert | KO (flying knee and punches) | Respect FC 5 | April 9, 2011 | 2 | 0:21 | Essen, Germany | |
| Win | 2–0 | Nerijus Slepetis | Submission (guillotine choke) | German MMA Association 7 | April 3, 2011 | 1 | 4:27 | Düsseldorf, Germany | |
| Win | 1–0 | Michael Zabrocki | TKO (punches) | German MMA Association 6 | July 7, 2010 | 1 | 2:34 | Düsseldorf, Germany | |