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Fighters on the Rise | UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues
You’re Going To Want To Pay Attention To These Three Emerging Talents On Saturday Night
This sounds funny to say, but you’re really going to want to pay close attention to the three athletes highlighted below this weekend because if everything shakes out in their favor on Saturday, all three will be catapulted up the rankings in their respective divisions.
Don’t get me wrong: I want you to take note of each and every fighter discussed in this space week after week, but the reality is that all the athletes that appear in this series are at different points in their development, at different stages of their careers than their contemporaries featured in previous or forthcoming instalments of Fighters on the Rise, and where each fighter is at in that journey is one of the myriad factors that impact the significance of the matchup in front of them and what a victory in said contest would do for their careers.
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And this is one of those weeks where two of the three athletes below are on the precipice of punching their ticket to the Top 15, while the third is looking to climb into the Top 10 with another big win.
It’s not inconceivable to see each of these three fighters in major fights against even more established opponents later in their year if things go their way this weekend, so keep reading and be sure to be dialed in when this triumvirate of talents makes the walk at the UFC APEX on Saturday.
Youssef Zalal
“The Moroccan Devil” was one of the best stories of 2024 in the UFC.
Youssef Zalal Wraps Up Second-Round Submission | UFC Edmonton
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Youssef Zalal Wraps Up Second-Round Submission | UFC Edmonton
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A standout prospect representing Factory X Muay Thai, Zalal opened his UFC career with three wins between February and August 2020, moving to 10-2 and establishing himself as someone to keep close tabs on in the featherweight division. But he lost his next three and battled Da’Mon Blackshear to a draw in a one-off move to bantamweight, resulting in his getting released from the promotion.
The 28-year-old posted three straight stoppage wins on the regional circuit following his departure and was called in on short-notice last March to face off with Billy Quarantillo, dominating the opening round before choking out the Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) grad in the second round to push his winning streak to four and kick off his second tour of duty with the UFC. A little less than five months later, Zalal rolled through Jarno Errens, and then in November, he knocked down and choked out Jack Shore with incredible smoothness in Edmonton to close out an incredible comeback year with three wins, three finishes, and a ton of momentum.
FULL FIGHTS: Cannonier vs Vettori | Rodrigues vs Tavares
Saturday night, Zalal opens his 2025 campaign in a co-main event matchup against Calvin Kattar that should provide a clear indication as to whether or not he’s ready to continue climbing the ranks and hang with the best in the division.
What made Zalal an intriguing prospect when he was originally called up to the UFC remains the bedrock of his game today — he’s a fluid, multi-faceted fighter with keen finishing instincts; someone that is able to hurt you with various weapons and knows how to chase down a stoppage once there is blood in the water. What has changed, in my opinion, is that he’s now a little more measured, a little more genuinely sure of himself as an athlete, and it has allowed him to fight with greater confidence and improved patience, which only ups the danger factor for those standing across from him.
Kattar is an interesting test at this point, as he’s been a Top 15 stalwart for an extended period of time, but enters having dropped four of his last five fights. While they’ve all come against Top 10 talents — with one coming by way of injury and another a debated decision — the Methuen, Massachusetts man is surely itching to show he’s still amongst the best in the division, and has shown in the past that he’s capable of halting the ascent of promising talents in the 145-pound weight class.
A fourth straight win would likely propel Zalal into the Top 15, maybe even the Top 10, depending on how things shake out, and put him in a position to continue working forward in the division throughout the remainder of the year. He feels like a dark horse contender right now, and has a chance to shed a little more light on where he fits this weekend.
Ketlen Souza
Souza has lost just once in the last four years, posting seven wins in eight starts, with that lone setback coming on short notice, up a division, against Karine Silva in her UFC debut.
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The 29-year-old suffered a knee injury in that contest, but since returning to action and the strawweight division, the former Invicta FC champ has posted back-to-back wins over Marnic Mann and Yazmin Jauregui to put herself on the doorstep of the Top 15 as she heads into this weekend’s pairing with rankings mainstay Angela Hill.
Souza’s initial UFC win over Mann was your garden variety one-sided contest, with the Brazilian earning a clean sweep of the scorecards against the DWCS alum. But her bout with Jauregui was a statement effort on a massive stage, as “Esquentadinha” dropped the Mexican prospect with a clubbing left hook, chasing her to the canvas and choking her out seconds later, earning herself both a Performance of the Night bonus at UFC 306 and Submission of the Month honors in the Monthly Report for September.
Now she faces the inevitable veteran litmus test, stepping in against Hill in a bout that is all too familiar for the Ultimate Fighter alum and long-tenured strawweight. Though she has not been able to string together the requisite wins to emerge as a bona fide contender in the 115-pound weight class, Hill has continued to improve each time out and is the kind of experienced hand that each division needs stationed inside the rankings for situations just like this one.
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This is Souza’s first opportunity to take a big step forward in the division, and after her massive showing as an underdog against Jauregui, she’ll have an opportunity to really announce herself as an ascending threat in the strawweight ranks if she’s able to collect a third straight win by besting Hill. She has an intriguing mix of power, finishing skills, and general meanness to her game that make her a fascinating fighter to track heading into this one, and it’s going to be interesting to see that all come out on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Jacqueline Cavalcanti
While Zalal and Souza are looking to force their way into the rankings, Cavalcanti is already stationed inside the Top 15, currently residing at No. 13 as she readies to take on Julia Avila this weekend.
Cavalcanti has gone 3-0 in the UFC to extend her winning streak to six and her record to 8-1 overall heading into this one. She earned a unanimous decision win over Zarah Fairn in her debut and landed on the happy side of a split decision verdict in each of her last two outings against Josiane Nunes and Nora Cornolle, though few agreed with the lone judge that awarded Cornolle the fight last fall in Paris.
What makes the Brazilian-born, Portugal-based bantamweight such an interesting addition to the weight class and a fighter to track going forward is that she has very good size and athleticism for the division, standing five-foot-eight and showing good movement and fluidity in her striking. She could certainly be a little more active in terms of letting loose with her weapons, but some of that comes with time, and as good as she’s looked thus far, it’s worth remembering that Cavalcanti only turned 27 last summer and is still just nine fights into her professional career.
That’s why Saturday’s pairing with Avila feels perfect, as the “Raging Panda” is the kind of feisty, gritty, experienced competitor that will serve as a tremendous measuring stick to gauge where Cavalcanti current sits in the division and what her future might hold. Though she’s just 3-2 inside the Octagon, the 12th-ranked Avila is not someone to be trifled with and will fight you to the very final moment, every time out.
Bantamweight is currently light on fresh, emerging names, which is another piece of why there is (or should be) a lot of attention on Cavalcanti heading into this one. While the title situation gets sorted out, there is room for up-and-comers to get quality matchups against tenured talents, and if she can pick up a fourth straight UFC victory on Saturday, there is a very real possibility that she finds herself standing opposite someone with a single digit next to their name next time out.
UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs Rodrigues took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 15, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!