Kassem was born in Wentworthville, New South Wales, Australia. Kassem is of Lebanese descent. Her grandparents migrated from Lebanon to Australia in the 1970s.[2] She trained in Taekwondo and played rugby and softball when she was young. She was inspired by The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate TV series, but only started training MMA after watching her brother compete in grappling tournaments. Nadia started competing in amateur MMA not long after and turned pro. She had a record of 4–0 prior to signing with the UFC.[3]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Kassem fought in the Australian circuit under Urban Fight Night and Australia Regional promotion. She amassed an undefeated record of 4–0 prior to being signed by the UFC.[3]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Kassem was expected to make her promotional debut on 11 June 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt in Auckland, New Zealand against JJ Aldrich,[4][5] but was removed from the card, citing injury, and replaced by Chan-Mi Jeon.[6]
Kassem faced Alex Chambers at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura on 19 November 2017 in Sydney, Australia.[7] At the weight-ins, Kassem weighed in at 120 pounds, 4 pounds over the strawweight upper limit for non-title fights of 116 pounds. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Kassem forfeited 30% of her purse to Chambers.[8] She won the fight by unanimous decision.[9]
Kassem faced Ji Yeon Kim on 6 October 2019 at UFC 243.[13] At the weigh-ins, Kim weighed 128 pounds, 2 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit of 126. She was fined 30% of her purse, which went to her opponent Kassem. The bout proceeded at catchweight.[14] She lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.[15] Kassem faced heavy criticism due to faking a glove touch in the beginning of the opening round.[16]
