Aljamain Sterling uses veteran savvy to beat Youssef Zalal at UFC Fight Night

Aljamain Sterling continued to show he has evolved from a former bantamweight champion into a full-fledged featherweight title contender.

The former 135-pound kingpin relied on veteran savvy and creative grappling to win a five-round unanimous decision over rising 145-pound contender Youssef Zalal in a UFC Fight Night main event on Saturday.

Sterling has gone 3-1 since moving up in weight and is moving closer to a title shot in his new division.

The UFC has not yet confirmed who will challenge reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski next and, even though Sterling was unable to find a submission or get a knockout finish, Sterling suggested after his latest dominant showing that he feels ready to take on Volkanovski.

“I bring something different to this table,” Sterling said after getting his hand raised. “None of these guys can do it the way that I do it. I mix it up well. I’m a hard guy to stop the takedowns, I got veteran experience, I know when to push and when to take my foot off the gas.”

Sterling was six of 11 on his takedown attempts, out-landed Zalal 220 to 61 in total strikes, and reminded mixed martial arts fans that he has some of the best back control in the entire sport.

The 36-year-old accumulated 13:49 in total control time, much of which was spent backpacking Zalal with a body triangle and either peppering away with short punches or searching for a choke.

Morocco’s Zalal had won his past eight fights prior to participating in his first UFC main event. The 29-year-old had risen to No. 7 in the division and was coming off a submission win over Josh Emmett but will now have to regroup.

“This is his chance to get a big win and make his push for a world title, and it’s up to me to turn him back and show him that ‘unc’ is not done yet,” Sterling told Sportsnet of this matchup prior to the fight. “I’m looking to become a two-division champ, and not many people can ever say they’ve done that, so that’s where I’m at.”

Sterling’s only loss since moving up from 135 pounds a couple years ago was a closely contested three-round decision to current No. 1 contender Movsar Evloev in December of 2024.

Regardless of what the UFC matchmakers decide to do next, Sterling has positioned himself well within the featherweight divison and is in line for a prominent matchup in the second half of the year. The question now becomes, will it be for gold, or will it be for the chance to fight for gold?

Saturday’s 25-minute featherweight contest headlined a 13-bout card at the Meta Apex near the UFC’s home base in Nevada.

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED?

Joselyne Edwards pulled off an upset of Norma Dumont in the co-main event. Dumont had risen to No. 3 in the women’s bantamweight division but couldn’t extend her winning streak to six against No. 11-ranked Edwards, who will shoot up the charts at 135 pounds.

“Dangerous” Davey Grant lived up to his nickname at age 40 with a win over Adrian Luna Martinetti, who had a strong showing in his UFC debut in a spirited 15-minute bantamweight scrap.

Martinetti earned a UFC contract six months ago thanks to a brawl with Mark Vologdin on Dana White’s Contender Series and was given a tough debut assignment in a crafty 16-fight veteran like England’s Grant.

Raoni Barcelos continued rolling in the bantamweight division, edging out No. 14-ranked contender Montel Jackson by split decision. Brazil’s Barcelos, 38, should be ranked next week considering he has now won five in a row and has defeated former champion Cody Garbrandt and No. 11 contender Peyton Talbott on his current streak.

Ryan Spann kicked off the main card with a second-round knockout of Marcus Buchecha in a heavyweight meeting. Buchecha is a 13-time jiu-jitsu world champ, but his grappling credentials hasn’t translated to success in the UFC. The 36-year-old is winless in his three UFC appearances and this was his first KO loss.

Buchecha wasn’t the only world champion grappler on the card to fall short. Middleweight Eric McConico earned the biggest win of his career by overcoming a rough opening round to win a decision over BJJ world champ Rodolfo Vieira.

Strawweight Talita Alencar is a world champion Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist in both gi and no-gi competition yet she relied mostly on her improving striking skills to defeat fellow Brazilian 115-pounder Julia Polastri via unanimous decision. The 35-year-old Alencar is now 4-1 in the UFC. Polastri is 2-3 as she continued her trend of alternating wins and losses.

In other action, Rafa Garcia snapped Alexander Hernandez’s four-fight winning streak and Francis Marshall swept the scorecards against Lucas Brennan in a pair of lightweight bouts.

Jackson McVey submitted fellow middleweight Sedriques Dumas with a first-round D’Arce choke moments after dropping him with a right hand.

Michelle Montague remained undefeated with a decision win over one-time women’s bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva, who dropped her fifth consecutive fight in the UFC. Montague, 32, became the first woman from New Zealand to sign with the UFC when she did so last year after beginning her career in the Professional Fighters League. Montague is now 2-0 in the organization and will debut in the contender rankings next week since Bueno Silva entered the weekend ranked No. 12 at 135 pounds.

Cody Durden snapped a four-fight losing streak and pulled off the biggest upset on the entire card as a five-to-one underdog. The American earned a unanimous decision over Brazil’s Jafel Filho. Both fighters typically compete at 125 pounds yet this bout was contested at 135 due to Durden replacing an injured Lucas Rocha on short notice.

Victor Valenzuela fought with a heavy heart and dedicated his unanimous decision victory over 19-fight UFC veteran Max Griffin to his late grandmother who died earlier in the week. Chile’s Valenzuela, 32, improved to 14-4 as a pro after the close three-round bout. Sacramento’s Griffin, 40, has lost three in a row, four of his past five and fell to 8-11 in the UFC with the loss.