Aljamain Sterling continued his rejuvenating run at featherweight on Saturday, seizing control of rising contender Youssef Zalal and mauling him on the way to a lopsided unanimous decision in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.
Sterling (26-5) was relentless in scoring six takedowns on 11 attempts, and once he had Zalal on the canvas, he controlled him for 13 minutes, 49 seconds of the 25-minute fight. Sterling continually threatened submissions while landing flurries of punches on his trapped opponent, amassing a 220-61 edge in strikes. All three judges scored the bout 49-45 for Sterling.
"I was like, man, he's eating some monster shots," Sterling said. "I'm looking at [referee] Herb [Dean], 'Stop this fight or what, cuz?' ... But I'm just happy to compete against a young prospect, a guy I really think could be fighting for the world title tomorrow. And I just beat him."
Zalal (18-6-1) went into the bout on an eight-fight winning streak.
Sterling, a former UFC bantamweight champion, won for the third time in four bouts since moving to the 145-pound division in 2024. Ranked No. 5 in the featherweight division by ESPN and with the two fighters directly ahead of him in the top 10 coming off losses, Sterling feels like he is on the verge of a shot at a title in a second weight class.
After Saturday's win, Sterling called out the top two featherweights: No. 2-ranked Movsar Evloev and champion Alexander Volkanovski.
"Movsar, I'm coming for that ass next," Sterling said. "Volkanovski, you know I'm coming for that ass."
The seventh-ranked Zalal, who had built some momentum by winning the first six fights of his second stint in the UFC, did have some moments of success against Sterling. After losing the first two rounds, he turned the tables by seizing control on the canvas and locking in a tight guillotine choke. But Sterling persevered and was back on top before the round ended.
Then he came out in Round 4 and immediately took Zalal to the mat, where he built an 81-3 striking advantage in his most dominant round.
"Give it up to Aljo, man. He did a fantastic f---ing job," Zalal said. "I love this sport, and I'll be back. I gave it everything I got, but man, this is my first five rounds. So I'm going to take everything I can and come back."
Sterling and Zalal have trained together, and after the fight, they embraced in the cage and posed for photos.
"Youssef is a tough dude," Sterling said. "Hit me with a couple of jabs in the first round, and I was like, 'Yeah, motherf---er's still as fast as I remember.' So I had to take my time. ... I'm 36 years old, so I'm try to make one more title run. You feel me?"
