UFC Vegas 102 Star competed in three martial arts in a tournament to secure his Octagon

On By Littum

UFC Vegas 102 Co-headliner Youssef Zalal earned another chance in the promotion under Bisarre Circumstances.

UFC Featherweight Youssef Zalal’s redemption in the promotion was one of 2024’s feel-good stories. When Zalal seems to start 2025 with a smell, he reflected over the long way he took to earn another chance from the UFC matchmakers after his release in 2022.

Zalal is facing UFC fan-favorite Calvin Kattar in UFC Vegas 102 Co-Main event this Saturday at the UFC Apex system. He returns to the cage after submitting Jack Shore in his latest match in November at UFC Edmonton.

After he was released by the UFC in 2022, Zalal focused on carving a path back to Octagon. Zalal competed in the Sparta Combat League in Colorado, a regional promotion with a unique tournament format.

Zalal’s first tournament experience contained three different martial arts disciplines, and despite the obvious challenges, Zalal proved unexplored by the steep tasks ahead of him.

The Sparta Combat League tournament contained the opening round of the bracket, which was only boxing, where the second round was a kickboxing match and the final was MMA-focused.

(RL) Youssef Zalal from Morocco Knee Jack Shore of Wales in a featherweight match during the UFC Fight Night event at Rogers Place on November 2nd, ...
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Youssef Zalal fought in the three-sports tournament to earn second chance in UFC

In a recent conversation with UkroneZalal explained how a unique tournament set him up for a possible UFC gene signing.

“The first round was F – in boxing, and I have to meet him,” Zalal said. “I was in my pants, bro. All the other guys got to fight against kickboxers and MMA warriors in boxing, and I’m stuck by fighting for a legitimate boxer in a boxing match. I had no choice but to come after it.

“I was so nervous about that fight against the boxer – as soon as I beat him, I celebrated as if I won it all. Coach reassured me as ‘yo, you have to relax, we have to get you in the back.’ I was like ‘what do you mean?’ Bro, I played forgot I was fighting in a tournament! ”((H/T Uncrowned?

Zalal won the Sparta Tournament Championship by submitting Vadim Zadnipryte. But Zalal was not immediately offered another chance in the UFC after the tournament when the matchmakers offered him an alternative place on The ultimate fighter.

After the alternative castle did not pan, Zalal got a short -term invitation to meet Billy Quarantillo at a UFC FIGHT NIGHT Event in March last year. He submitted Quarantillo in the second round to start a 3-0 race in the UFC in 2024.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmujtv3obei

Youssef Zalal made a ‘Fighter of the Year’ case in 2024

Zalal’s first stint in UFC, beginning in 2020, contained three straight wins over Austin Lingo, Jordan Griffin and Peter Barrett. But a loss to the current UFC Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria started a winless slide with four matches, and he was cut by the promotion after a majority draw against Da’mon Blackshear in August 2022.

Zalal vs. Kattar is expected to be a firefighter as long as it lasts on UFC Vegas 102. Kattar is struggling with a lot on the line, after a crooked defeat to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 300 last April.

The UFC Vegas 102 has an intermediate weight main event between top competitions Jared Cannonis and Gregory Rodrigues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iztdoptr3vg