UFC Featherweight Youssef Zalal Feels Aljamain Sterling’s Jiu-Jitsu Edge Decisive In Movsar Evloev Fight: ‘When The Russian Fought Diego Lopes…’ (Exclusive)

A huge featherweight clash is set for UFC 307 on October 5, as former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling looks to hand Movsar Evloev his first loss. Evloev has been a force of nature since arriving in the Octagon and whilst he hasn’t had the finishes to really gather hype around his winning streak, his record […]

Continue Reading UFC Featherweight Youssef Zalal Feels Aljamain Sterling’s Jiu-Jitsu Edge Decisive In Movsar Evloev Fight: ‘When The Russian Fought Diego Lopes…’ (Exclusive) at MMA News.

A huge featherweight clash is set for UFC 307 on October 5, as former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling looks to hand Movsar Evloev his first loss.

Evloev has been a force of nature since arriving in the Octagon and whilst he hasn’t had the finishes to really gather hype around his winning streak, his record speaks for itself.

Sterling has also not always received tons of praise for his fighting style but his high-level grappling combined with awkward striking, makes him a very tough test for his Russian opponent.

A fellow 145-pound contender on the UFC roster is excited to see how the two men match up with one another once the Octagon door closes.

Youssef Zalal Breaks Down Aljamain Sterling Vs Movsar Evloev At UFC 307

Youssef Zalal will look to secure back-to-back victories during his second stint in the UFC when he returns to face Jarno Errens on August 10.

In a recent interview with MMA News, the Moroccan fighter broke down how he sees the match-up of top contenders and grapplers going down in Salt Lake City.

Zalal made reference to how a clash of two grappling specialists often turns into a striking match between them as they cancel one another out on the floor.

He also provided the theory that based on what he has seen from both, this could be a wrestling versus jiu-jitsu affair.

“Those guys, I think it’s either gonna see a striking match the whole time and I think you’re gonna see one either wrestling and the other one jiu-jitsu. I feel like when the Russian fought Diego Lopes, you could see the jiu-jitsu kind of felt a little bit [off] right. I mean Diego Lopes’ jiu-jitsu is pretty good too so that’s why that, and I think Aljamain is a really good grappler obviously.

“so I think you’re going to see a little battle on that part or it’s going to be a full-on striking match whenever you put two grapplers together so I’m pretty interested to see how the match-ups and the styles go on that part.”

Read also: Dan Ige Has Return After Same-Day Notice Diego Lopes Scrap In The Works For Abu Dhabi-Held UFC 308

Continue Reading UFC Featherweight Youssef Zalal Feels Aljamain Sterling’s Jiu-Jitsu Edge Decisive In Movsar Evloev Fight: ‘When The Russian Fought Diego Lopes…’ (Exclusive) at MMA News.

Ilia Topuria Outworks Youssef Zalal – UFC Fight Island 5 Results

Zalal TopuriaOpening up the UFC Fight Island 5 main card is a featherweight clash between Youssef Zalal and Ilia Topuria. Round 1: The two touch gloves as we get started. Zalal misses a body kick. Topuria is advancing aggressively. Topuria responds with a right hand as Zalal attempts a low kick. Zalal partially lands a head […]

Zalal Topuria

Opening up the UFC Fight Island 5 main card is a featherweight clash between Youssef Zalal and Ilia Topuria.

Round 1: The two touch gloves as we get started. Zalal misses a body kick. Topuria is advancing aggressively. Topuria responds with a right hand as Zalal attempts a low kick. Zalal partially lands a head kick. Zalal continues to use good footwork and lands a body kick. Topuria level changes and goes for the takedown. Zalal defends well and reveres Topuria against the fence. Topuria, however, suplexes Zalal to the ground beautifully and is now in full mount. Topuria looks to lock in an anaconda. Zalal continues to fight it but finds himself in a guillotine choke. It’s switched to an anaconda but Zalal scrambles and is on his feet. He separates and the round comes to an end.

Round 2: Zalal goes for the takedown now but Topuria is defending well. Topuria lands some hammer fists but Zalal continues to work. They separate. Zalal appears to be much slower now as Topuria advances forward. Topuria lands a huge one-two but Zalal eats it. Topuria quickly takes him down soon after. Topuria has transitioned to a mounted guillotine but Zalal gets out of it. Topuria transitions to his back. However, Zalal reverses and now has Topuria’s back! Topuria shrugs him off and lands some ground and pound. Zalal looks for a kneebar but to no avail as the round ends.

Round 3: Topuria level changes and is back on top of Zalal. Zalal threatens with an armbar but Topuria is not in serious danger. Topuria looks to attempt another submission but Zalal gets out of it. Topuria attempts another takedown but Zalal defends it and goes for a guillotine now. However, Topuria gets out of it and is on top again. Zalal gets up but Topuria has his back and drags him to the ground again. They’re back on the feet and Zalal looks like the much fresher fighter now. Zalal partially lands a head kick. Topuria is clearly fatigued here. Topuria ducks a left and beautifully-timed takedown. Zalal tries a flying switch knee but Topuria catches it and ends the round on top.

Official result: Ilia Topuria defeats Youssef Zalal via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).