Yousef Zalal is hoping to rise to the highest of the UFC featherweight division and believes defeating Aljamain Sterling could be an enormous increase to his return.
Zalal and Sterling are scheduled to conflict in the primary occasion of UFC Vegas 116 on Saturday. That is the largest struggle of Zalal’s skilled MMA profession. For Sterling, this can be a likelihood to deliver again a youthful contender whereas making a case for the title. “The Funk Grasp” believes he can have an important match subsequent in opposition to reigning 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Chatting with reporters throughout UFC Vegas 116’s media day, Zalal stated that whereas his accolades do not evaluate to Sterling’s, he plans to take among the shine for himself (h/t MMAJunkie).
“It is loopy. My resume seems tiny as shit,” Zalal stated. “It is fairly loopy. I noticed them saying issues like, ‘Oh, Yousef has by no means fought anybody. The one man he can beat is Josh Emmett,’ they usually have been like, ‘(Calvin) Kattar is 0-5,’ and I used to be like, ‘These guys fought these guys too! I do not know what to say!'” This was my time, I used to be younger, these guys are within the fucking UFC. I believed it was what it was, however that is the fantastic thing about this sport. Should you play in opposition to a man like that and beat him, you’ll be able to steal fairly a bit from his resume. ”
Zalal is on an eight-fight profitable streak. He scored a first-round submission end in opposition to Josh Emmett in October 2025. Previous to that victory, he earned a unanimous choice over Calvin Kattar. That is the one match through which Zalal achieved a profitable streak.
What are your remaining predictions for UFC Vegas 116 headliner Youssef Zalal vs. Aljamain Sterling? Tell us within the feedback beneath. Go to BJPenn.com for reside protection of Saturday’s occasion.
