Youssef Zalal 2024 Lookback

This was Zalal’s first fight back in the Octagon since he got released in 2022. During his first stint in the promotion, he went 3-3-1. But you could tell something had changed for “The Moroccan Devil” when he came back a second time and that was evident during his fight against Billy Quarantillo.

MAIN EVENT: Jared Cannonier | If At First You Don’t Succeed… | Gregory Rodrigues Is Ready To Break From The Middleweight Pack

Prior to getting resigned, Zalal had picked up three wins in a row on the regional circuit. It was an all-around dominant performance from Zalal, who almost secured the submission win at the end of the first round after hurting Quarantillo with a knee earlier. It took less than two minutes into the second round for Zalal to lock up the rear-naked choke submission. 

“The Moroccan Devil” was back in the UFC and this was only the start of a great year for him.

Vs Jarno Errens 

Five months later, Zalal was back inside UFC APEX and he put on another showstopping performance, one worthy of a Performance of the Night bonus.

UFC SEATTLE: View The Card | Buy Tickets | Vip Experiences

Zalal continued to show off his skillset and earned another dominant submission victory, this time against Jarno Errens in the first round. It was a short night in the office for Zalal, who got Errens down to the canvas quickly. As Errens rose to his feet, Zalal locked in a body triangle, and soon after secured the rear-naked choke submission.  

Vs Jack Shore

Fighting outside of the APEX for the first time in 2024, Zalal didn’t waste the opportunity to pick up another finish in front of the Edmonton crowd last November. Heading into the fight, Zalal talked about how excited he was to test himself against someone like Jack Shore, who came into the fight having won nine of his 17 fights by submission. 

FOLLOW @UFCNEWS: On Facebook | On Instagram | On X

The first round was evenly matched between the two featherweights with Zalal ultimately picking up the nod on the scorecards. At the start of the second round, the two spent time trading on the feet, and Zalal landed a knee on the chin of Shore that sent him down to the canvas. From there, it was business as usual for the 28-year-old, who ended the night with his specialty - a rear-naked choke - and left Canada with his second Performance of the Night bonus in a row. 

That made it 3-0 inside the Octagon for Zalal, all by submission, as he solidified himself as a dark-horse contender at 145 pounds.