Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling scored a massive win over Youssef Zalal on Saturday night, moving one step closer to a featherweight title shot.
Sterling defeated Zalal via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45) in the UFC Fight Night main event at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
Sterling used his grappling to dominate Zalal for much of the fight, completing six of 11 takedowns and amassing almost 14 minutes of control time on the ground.
After the win, Sterling called out 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski and No. 1 contender Movsar Evloev.
Sterling, 36, won his second straight fight and improved to 3-1 since moving up to featherweight in 2024. He and Zalal were ranked No. 5 and No. 7 in the division coming in, respectively.
Zalal's eight-fight winning streak ended with the loss. The 29-year-old had won five in a row - including a first-round submission of Josh Emmett last October - since returning to the UFC for a second stint two years ago.
