The Moroccan ‘expelled’ from the UFC by Ilyia Topuria who has returned to his revenge

Sometimes, life grants second opportunities, and in the hands of those who receive them there is the task of taking advantage of them. This is what happened to Youssef Zalal. The Moroccan landed at the UFC in 2020, housing a three -win streak in the same year. However, in what was going to be his fourth fight of the season, something that announced a meteoric ascent, he had to know the defeat against a rival who came in short warning and having spent the Covid-19 days ago. This was Ilyia Topuria. After the stumbling block, he had two other losses and a tie that made him leave the company. Upon 2024 he has caused a tornado in the category, obtaining three wire. Now, he will look for Top 10 against Calvin Kattar.

Zalal’s energy at the time of his childhood caused that he will constantly fight with other children from the streets of Morocco. To channel her, her mother enrolled him to Kickboxing, something that gave her the base as a fighter. At age 15 he turned his life, moving from Casablanca to the United States. There he began to compete in mixed martial arts (MMA) at age 19 amateurly. After five fighting he jumped to professional, developing much of her career in the promoter ‘Legacy Fighting Alliance’. With a 7-2 record and only 23 years, it was signed by UFCas a young promise.

His beginning perfectly adjusted to this condition, because in his first three lawsu he managed to go out with his arm up. However, in the room of the year, a young man Hispanic-Georgian interposed on his way. On paper, that fight was a mere procedure for the Moroccan, as Topuria came with just two weeks of preparation. Even so, at the time of the crash everything changed. The killer dominated with mastery the first two assaults, giving a great performance. It was even allowed to perform a super super to fly to Zalal. In the last assault, the now featherweight champion had problems with cardio, something logical due to the short warning. Even so, he could take the fight, giving Youssef Zalal his first defeat in the company while he took His first victory.

Following that everything was downhill. His record began to stagger, as he accumulated two other losses and a draw, so it was UFC cut. Back to one of the promoters of its beginnings, ‘Sparta Sports and Entertainment’, took three triumphs in a row, which allowed him to return to Dana White’s company in 2024. Already back, the Moroccan has recovered her best version , with three consecutive victories, obtaining two bonds by performance. In the last one caused a sensation due to a Spectacular knee that he assaulted on his opponent, to culminate the completion with an arm triangle.

Now, Youssef Zalal has a golden opportunity. Despite being out of the division ranking, it has been scheduled to face Calvin Kattar, number 10, so from winning it could have a great leap. In addition, he has in his mind the champion Ilia Topuria: «The first time I lost at the UFC was with Ilia Topuria and seeing what he has done is now crazy. I will fight again with Ilia Topuria and I will be world champion»He said after his last victory.