Latest news with #Zalal
Morocco World
4 days ago
- Sport
- Morocco World
Morocco's Youssef Zalal Breaks into UFC Featherweight Top 10
Moroccan mixed martial artist Youssef Zalal has entered the UFC featherweight top 10 for the first time, ranking ninth following a unanimous decision win over Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night 251 in Las Vegas. Zalal, 28, becomes the first Moroccan fighter to reach the top 10 in any UFC division. His professional record stands at 17 wins, five losses and one draw. He made his UFC debut in 2020 with a win over Austin Lingo but was released in 2022. Zalal returned in March 2024 and has since recorded four consecutive victories, including a submission win over Billy Quarantillo with a rear-naked choke. Nicknamed 'The Moroccan Devil,' Zalal is known for his ability to combine striking and grappling. He also handed current champion Ilia Topuria his UFC debut in a bout that went to a decision in Topuria's favour. Zalal's recent form could get him a title shot soon.
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Josh Emmett shuts down Youssef Zalal's UFC callout: 'I would like to fight big name guys'
LAS VEGAS – Josh Emmett has some bad news for Youssef Zalal: He's not down to fight him. Emmett (19-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) a former UFC interim title challenger, was recently called out by rising contender Zalal (17-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) in an interview with MMA Junkie Radio at UFC X. MMA Junkie Radio then went straight to the source and asked Emmett if he'd be down to throw down with Zalal. The answer was no. "I would like to fight big name guys," Emmett said. "I think he's a good guy, but I'm the guy that's always fighting these up-and-coming, undefeated prospects. I just want big, exciting fights. I don't want to just fight people behind me. Maybe he beats a few guys in front of me, and maybe we'll run it." Emmett, 40, most recently fought in April when he lost a unanimous decision to top contender Lerone Murphy. Prior to that, he scored one of the most brutal knockouts of 2023 when he put Bryce Mitchell's lights out. Team Alpha Male's Emmett isn't sure what's next for his career, given the state of the featherweight division, but he hopes to get the answer soon. He ideally wants to return in October against a fellow veteran. "I'm trying to figure that out now, but I feel like a lot of guys in the featherweight division are all booked right now, so hopefully in the next two or three weeks we figure out and lock in an opponent," Emmett said. "I want to fight as soon as possible."
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFC contender Youssef Zalal itching to fight again in 2025, calls out Josh Emmett
Youssef Zalal wants to test himself with one of the biggest punchers in the UFC's featherweight division. LAS VEGAS – Youssef Zalal is getting itchy knuckles, and wants to get back in the cage as soon as possible. The streaking UFC featherweight contender has yet to book his second fight of 2025, and is already growing a bit restless, given he last fought in February. Speaking with MMA Junkie, Zalal (17-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC), who's on a seven-fight win streak, pitched veteran Josh Emmett to be his dance partner for his return to the octagon. "I hope the Josh Emmett fight can happen," Zalal told MMA Junkie Radio ahead of UFC 317. The Emmett callout is not personal, it's just what Zalal sees feasible at this point. There's a lot of moving pieces in the featherweight division, and several booked bouts. Zalal sees Emmett is one of the few top contenders he has a lot to gain from, who's currently not booked to fight. "I want to be the best in the world," Zalal said. "I want to be the world champion and I will be a world champion, so for me, we need that. I feel like the only way to climb up is to fight the top guys. For me, I'm just trying to climb up in the rankings, so hopefully that happens. Everybody else is booked or starting to get booked. They said Arnold Allen might fight Lerone Murphy, that there are talks about. Yair (Rodriguez) might fight or the belt, and you've got everybody else fighting, so the only one guy that doesn't have a fight in the top 10 is Josh Emmett." Zalal really hopes to make the Emmett fight happen this year. He's not too happy with his current level of activity, but understands the politics side to the game. "I hope so – that's the goal," Zalal said when asked about a 2025 return. "It's more politics. Movsar (Evloev), I think, is the best guy in the division so far that deserves a title shot and hasn't gotten a title shot, and he's fighting a guy that's not even ranked, that's not even in the UFC. It's all about politics in this game. You go out there and do something crazy, it gives you attention."
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Coach Marc Montoya discusses UFC contender Youssef Zalal's incredible career turnaround
Youssef Zalal went from being cut by the UFC to a ranked featherweight contender. Zalal (17-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) kicked off his first UFC tenure 3-0. However, he went on to lose three straight – including a decision to Ilia Topuria, followed by a majority draw that led to his UFC release. During his time away from the octagon, Zalal took part in a one-day competition, which included three combat sports: Boxing, kickboxing, and MMA. Zalal won all three fights and the tournament before getting a short-notice call to make his UFC return. Zalal submitted Billy Quarantillo, Jarno Errens, and Jack Shore before drawing perennial contender Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night 251 in February. Zalal won the bout by unanimous decision. His head coach, Marc Montoya, explains how Zalal was able to turn his career around. "With Youssef, we had a lot of success early in his first run in the UFC, he was 3-0," Montoya told MMA Junkie Radio. "Unfortunately he caught some failure after that. Some of it was short-notice stuff, some of it was some inexperience, and some of it was just timing, and it just didn't work out. So, where I saw it the most was on the regional scene. He did this tournament where he would fight three times in one night. "You box first, you do kickboxing second, and then you do MMA third. If you lose the boxing match, you don't get paid any money. If you win the kickboxing match, you advance to MMA. But, if you lose the kickboxing match, you get paid very little, as well. The risk there was super high, but what I saw in the training there was just his evolution already leading up to all of that. Not just physically, but mentally." Zalal now finds himself in the UFC's featherweight rankings after his win over Kattar. Montoya had the 28-year-old Moroccan level up during training camp. "When we just fought Kattar, I brought in Olympic-level boxers for him," Montoya said. "He trained with (Justin) Gaethje and (Cory) Sandhagen, and of course all his teammates at Factory X. But we just put all these obstacles in front of him and allowed him to work through some of that. It's not like he always succeeds in all of it instantly. "But what he's learned from his first stint in the UFC was, if I'm going to fail, I've got to learn from my failure, and I can do that quickly. I don't need to wait until I get in the cage to do that, and I think that's one of the things that's helped him a lot in his mental transition to get to where he is now." Youssef Zalal likes Yair Rodriguez, Brian Ortega as names to get him to UFC's next level Youssef Zalal accuses Calvin Kattar of greasing at UFC Fight Night 251 Youssef Zalal gets motivation from 15 minutes with UFC champ Ilia Topuria UFC Fight Night 246 video: Youssef Zalal cracks Jack Shore with knee, taps him with choke This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Coach Marc Montoya discusses UFC contender Youssef Zalal's incredible career turnaround
USA Today
13-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Coach Marc Montoya discusses UFC contender Youssef Zalal's incredible career turnaround
Youssef Zalal went from being cut by the UFC to a ranked featherweight contender. Zalal (17-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) kicked off his first UFC tenure 3-0. However, he went on to lose three straight – including a decision to Ilia Topuria, followed by a majority draw that led to his UFC release. During his time away from the octagon, Zalal took part in a one-day competition, which included three combat sports: Boxing, kickboxing, and MMA. Zalal won all three fights and the tournament before getting a short-notice call to make his UFC return. Zalal submitted Billy Quarantillo, Jarno Errens, and Jack Shore before drawing perennial contender Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night 251 in February. Zalal won the bout by unanimous decision. His head coach, Marc Montoya, explains how Zalal was able to turn his career around. 'With Youssef, we had a lot of success early in his first run in the UFC, he was 3-0,' Montoya told MMA Junkie Radio. 'Unfortunately he caught some failure after that. Some of it was short-notice stuff, some of it was some inexperience, and some of it was just timing, and it just didn't work out. So, where I saw it the most was on the regional scene. He did this tournament where he would fight three times in one night. 'You box first, you do kickboxing second, and then you do MMA third. If you lose the boxing match, you don't get paid any money. If you win the kickboxing match, you advance to MMA. But, if you lose the kickboxing match, you get paid very little, as well. The risk there was super high, but what I saw in the training there was just his evolution already leading up to all of that. Not just physically, but mentally.' Zalal now finds himself in the UFC's featherweight rankings after his win over Kattar. Montoya had the 28-year-old Moroccan level up during training camp. 'When we just fought Kattar, I brought in Olympic-level boxers for him,' Montoya said. 'He trained with (Justin) Gaethje and (Cory) Sandhagen, and of course all his teammates at Factory X. But we just put all these obstacles in front of him and allowed him to work through some of that. It's not like he always succeeds in all of it instantly. 'But what he's learned from his first stint in the UFC was, if I'm going to fail, I've got to learn from my failure, and I can do that quickly. I don't need to wait until I get in the cage to do that, and I think that's one of the things that's helped him a lot in his mental transition to get to where he is now.'
