Athletes
Youssef Zalal | The Comeback Kid
Resurgent Featherweight Talks Journey To UFC 320, Clash With Josh Emmett
There may not be a more joyous fighter on the UFC roster than Youssef Zalal. Whether you cross paths with him in person, speak with him over Zoom, or simply see him on camera at an event, the ascending featherweight always has a smile on his face enjoying every second of his second opportunity to compete on the biggest stage in the sport.
“For me, it’s like a kid buy his dream car,” began Zalal, who faces off with Josh Emmett on the main card of UFC 320 this weekend at T-Mobile Arena. “I’ve been thinking about this all camp: I’ve never been on a pay-per-view. The only time I’ve been on a main card was twice, so for me to be on a pay-per-view, it’s a kid buying his dream car. That’s what it means for me to step in there every time.”
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The joy that radiates from Zalal as he talks about making his pay-per-view main card debut is even more understandable when you know that the 29-year-old is a car obsessive and knows what it will take for him to purchase his actual dream car to the dollar. He has a diecast version of the vehicle on a shelf in his living room and the slip of paper with all the specs he wants as well as the final ticket price stashed in a box on his table.
So for him to compare this weekend’s opportunity to a step in the process of securing the one material possession he’s most keen on obtaining tells you everything you need to know about what this means to him.
“It’s not just the challenge ahead in the featherweight division either,” he added. “I asked for this, and we worked for this, and it’s like, ‘You can make it happen!’ I can’t wait until I get the keys to that dream car, which is getting that belt wrapped around my waist.”
UFC 320 Full Fight Card Preview
What adds to the excitement is that less than two years ago, Zalal wasn’t on the UFC roster, having been released following a majority draw with Da’Mon Blackshear in the summer of 2022.
After a hot start, things went south in a hurry, and a 4-fight winless streak sent him back to the regional circuit and into his own head where he had to confront a lot of hard questions about his talents, his future, how he would do things differently if he was able to work his way back to the promotion.
Youssef Zalal Submits Errens In The First Round | UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs Spivac 2
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Youssef Zalal Submits Errens In The First Round | UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs Spivac 2
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“I have an African mentality — I never stop, so you don’t have to worry about discipline and motivation; I’ll be there — but mentally? As a man? It hurt; it hurt to go through everything,” he said of being released and the questions that came with it. “Sitting alone, going over all the insecurities, (the comments), and you have to be honest with yourself.”
His voice got a little louder, his smile wider as he said the last part, acknowledging the truly difficult part of wanting to get better out loud in a manner that was equal parts “can you believe it?!” and “there is no other option.”
UFC 320 FULL FIGHTS: Ankalaev vs Pereira 1 | Pereira vs Hill | Dvalishvili vs O'Malley 2 | Sandhagen vs Figueiredo
After a laugh, Zalal continued. “Things I thought I was good at, turns out I wasn’t really good at, so life really hit me. It taught me how to become a better man — and that’s the most important thing in life — and that this can always go away; it’s not always there forever.
“(Going through that) definitely taught me different looks in terms of how I look at the fight game now and how I attack it.”
That’s where the joy comes in.
Being jettisoned back to the regional circuit is a bitter pill to swallow, especially when things went so swimmingly to start, but it also gave Zalal the opportunity to find an appreciation for what he’d been through and how he could turn that into a positive. Rather than walking away, which crossed his mind a time or two, he stayed the course, posting three straight wins before earning a short-notice opportunity opposite Billy Quarantillo in March 2024.
Early in the second round, Zalal climbed on Quarantillo’s back and locked up a rear-naked choke, kickstarting a comeback that has produced four wins in as many starts and earned “The Moroccan Devil” a place in the Top 10.
How To Watch And Stream UFC 320: Ankalaev vs Pereira 2
“This is a brutal job,” he said, the smile falling off his face for the first time. “If anybody has done a hard camp, it’s terrible; it’s the most terrible thing in the world. It’s taxing, and it’s not fun until you make it fun.
“Now I’ve stopped focusing so much on the results, but I also have that confidence where I know I’m going to be there, and it gave me the joy and freedom to be me. The freedom of me being here means a lot to me. This means the hard work is paying off and I think stars are aligned; everything that was meant to happen has happened, and I’m excited for UFC 320.
“I stuck with this,” he added, smiling once again. “Experience is the best teacher you can ever have, and I’m blessed to have had that experience at a young age. As we say, ‘Alhamdulillah’ because not a lot of people get where I’m at after what happened, at all; they’re done.
“To go through that, it opened my eyes, and now, we’re ready.”
WATCH: UFC 320 Countdown
The conversation shifts to Saturday night in Las Vegas where Zalal takes on Emmett, and the mere mention of his opponent’s name make his shift in his seat with the good kind of nervous energy that lets you know you’re alive and eager to tackle the crazy task in front of you. And Emmett is a difficult task for any featherweight hopeful.
The 40-year-old is one of the most dangerous knockout artists in the division; a tenured veteran that has shared the cage with a litany of the top names to pass through the 145-pound ranks over the previous decade and someone eager to show he’s not yet ready to be done being a contender himself.
“This guy has been fighting in the UFC since before I was in MMA,” he said of Emmett, who made his UFC debut on May 8, 2016; Zalal’s professional debut came 15 months later. “He’s been ranked for probably a decade. For me, it’s like ‘Wow! Holy s***!’
“For me to have the opportunity at a pay-per-view, that’s f****** exciting, bro! It pumps me up,” continued Zalal, bouncing around on his sofa, unable to contain the excitement coursing through his body. “It’s scary as s***, but I can’t f****** wait for that day!
“He’s tough, he fought for the interim, and to go out there and have the night that I know I’m gonna have is gonna change my life.”
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What scares him about this weekend is also what excites him most: the reality that he’s going to stride out to the Octagon in front of a capacity crowd at T-Mobile Arena and stand across from his toughest opponent to date, hoping to show that all the work he’s done over the last three years has transformed him from a kid with promise that couldn’t quite put it all together to a more mature, confident competitor ready to keep charging ahead in the talent-rich featherweight division.
“It’s not just the next step forward in the division, but it clarifies all your work,” said Zalal. “You know when you clarify butter, how it becomes a better butter? That’s literally what this is; we’ve put in the work.
“This means a lot to me, and to beat a guy like Josh Emmett, the freedom gets even greater,” he added, tying it back around to that idea of being a freer version of himself since returning and with each successive victory. “For me to go do that is a blessing, and I can’t wait for October 4th.”
At this time two years ago, Zalal was sitting on three straight wins, observing the UFC from afar, hoping for a second chance to prove he belongs, to prove he’s one of the best in the world.
Saturday night, he makes his first pay-per-view main card appearance, taking on one of the most dangerous and experienced fighters in the division; entering with four wins in as many starts since returning, confident that he belongs and fighting with a freedom that has produced the best results of his career.
“I’ve been to the bottom and I’m slowly crawling my way back up,” he said, still smiling. “Everybody loves a comeback story, and this is a helluva comeback story.”
UFC 320: Ankalaev vs Pereira 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 4, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!