Athletes
Youssef Zalal Has A Chip On His Shoulder
Returning To The Octagon For The First Time Since 2022, Youssef Zalal Has A Point To Prove At UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas
The week before his first UFC fight since August of 2022, I asked Youssef Zalal what he missed the most. I interjected that he shouldn’t say the paychecks because I know that, and not the interviews because I won’t believe him.
Zalal, one of the most affable fighters on the roster, laughed, explaining that he didn’t mind interviews, knowing that it’s part of the gig at this level of the sport. But when he got to the answer, it wasn’t exactly what you might expect.
“To be honest, it's the fight week,” Zalal said. “All the emotions that I feel, it's almost like a movie. That's what I'm mostly excited about. To be in that fight week environment, to be like, ‘Hey, let's go do this media, let's do this picture, let's hang out with the team.’ This week is about you. Because regionally, it was just like you training with your teammates. You still come to the gym, stay home, cut weight, then go fight. But when you fly out to Vegas, it’s just you and the coaches and the whole UFC thing, whatever you're doing. And that's what I was missing.”
Thankfully, it wasn’t a long wait for Zalal after his first UFC stint ended. But don’t tell that to “The Moroccan Devil,” who won three fights – all via first-round finish – following his draw with Da’Mon Blackshear in August of 2022. But when the call still didn’t come for him to return to the place where he compiled a 3-3-1 record, he figured getting on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter would be his ticket back in. But it wasn’t. And he was crushed.
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“I was kind of losing hope a little bit, but I stayed on my faith and really believing in my team and believing in my skills,” said Zalal. “And the whole story I tell people was that I was at The Ultimate Fighter, not even the house, but I was at the fighter's hotel for the whole week and the producer walks in and he said, ‘Hey, you haven't made the final cut.’”
Twenty-three hours later, Zalal got a call that he was replacing Gabriel Miranda in a fight against Billy Quarantillo this Saturday in Las Vegas. He was back. As for his release in 2022 and not making the TUF competition, who cares now. All that matters is what happens on Saturday and beyond.
Main Event Spotlight: UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas
“I'm very happy,” he said. “And I feel like I'm growing a lot more mature in my skills, in my growth, and just in general.”
And he’s only 27, with seven UFC fights under his belt, including a 2020 bout with the man currently holding the featherweight title, Ilia Topuria. Zalal went three rounds with the champ before losing a three-round unanimous decision that was a close 29-28 on all cards.
It was the kind of fight that showed Zalal’s potential, along with a 3-0 beginning to his time in the Octagon. But after the loss to Topuria was followed by two more decision defeats to SeungWoo Choi and Sean Woodson, and the draw with Blackshear, it was clear that Zalal needed a little more seasoning before renewing his assault on the elite in the UFC. So he took the release in stride, and after his three first-round finishes, this featherweight is back with a heavyweight-sized chip on his shoulder.
Fighters on the Rise | UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas
“A hundred percent,” said Zalal. “I'm not there to embarrass myself anymore. I'm there to fight to show I'm the best in the world. That's my biggest thing. I look for people's reactions. They're like, ‘Oh, you're fighting the number 19 in the world.’ And I was like, okay, I can't wait to go out there and show them who I am and then be like, who's number 19? There’s a hundred percent chip on my shoulder, for sure.”
UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas took place on March 23, 2024 live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. See the final Prelim and Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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