Aljamain Sterling Stifles Zalal’s Win Streak

Aljamain Sterling, the former UFC bantamweight champion, dominated Youssef Zalal to secure a unanimous decision.

All three judges saw the bout identically, scoring it 49-45 for Sterling. Sterling was successful on 6 of his 11 takedown attempts. Once the fight hit the canvas, Sterling racked up 13 minutes and 49 seconds of control time. While known for his grappling, Sterling’s ground-and-pound was prolific. He amassed a 220-61 edge in total strikes. Despite the lopsided scorecards, Zalal showed flashes of the danger. 

Zalal capitalized on a momentary scramble in Round 3, seizing Sterling’s neck in a deep guillotine choke. Sterling showed composure to hand-fight his way out of the submission and regain top position. Any momentum Zalal gained was immediately snuffed out in the “championship rounds.” Sterling opened Round 4 with an immediate takedown and spent nearly the entire five minutes on Zalal’s back to get the win. 

“Youssef is a tough dude. 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?,” Sterling said 

“Give it up to Aljo, man. He did a fantastic f—ing job. 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,” Zalal said 

Main Card

Featherweight: Aljamain Sterling beat Youssef Zalal via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45)

Women’s bantamweight: Joselyn Edwards beat Norma Dumont via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Lightweight: Rafa García beat Alexander Hernandez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Bantamweight: Davey Grant beat Adrían Luna Martinetti via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight: Raoni Barcelos beat Montel Jackson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Heavyweight: Ryan Spann beat Marcus Buchecha via KO (punches) at 2:10 of R2 | Watch finish

Prelims

Middleweight: Eric McConico beat Rodolfo Vieira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Middleweight: Jackson McVey beat Sedriques Dumas via submission (brabo choke) at 2:14 of R1 | Watch finish

Women’s bantamweight: Michelle Montague beat Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight: Cody Durden beat Jafel Filho via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Lightweight: Francis Marshall beat Lucas Brennan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Welterweight: Victor Valenzuela beat Max Griffin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Women’s strawweight: Talita Alencar beat Julia Polastri via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)