Youssef Zalal had no idea how good Ilia Topuria was when he welcomed him to the UFC.
Zalal (16-5-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) was scheduled to face Seung-Woo Choi in October 2020, but Choi was forced out just 10 days’ out from the fight. Topuria stepped in to face Zalal, but “The Moroccan Devil” didn’t know anything about him outside of his 100 percent finish rate.
Topuria swarmed Zalal with his grappling, transitioning from submission to submission. However, Zalal hung tough and was able to escape out of numerous chokes. He rallied to win Round 3, but it was too little, too late.
“The third round he just gassed out, I f*cked him up in the third round,” Zalal said of Topuria on the “JAXXON Podcast.” “I won the third round, but the second round, bro, is like I wish I would have went a little bit more. But, that’s when I went at it and really gave it to him. I was the first guy to ever take him to a decision, and that was his first fight in the UFC.
“After that, he went on a f*cking tear. He like literally knocked out everybody and then Josh Emmett, he 10-7’d Josh Emmett in a round. I was like come on bro, and he just f*cked everybody up. I got kicked out of the UFC after that. After this fight I was on a three-fight losing streak, and then a draw, and then they kicked me out.”
Zalal backed Topuria to retain his featherweight title vs. Max Holloway at UFC 308, but was impressed regardless when “El Matador” became the first fighter to ever knock out Holloway.
”You knock out Max Holloway bro, like come on bro, like that sh*t broke my heart,” Zalal said. “F*ck, but yeah bro, I was on his ass. I was like, f*ck, bro. He’s the only guy literally I’ve been chasing since I got kicked out of the UFC, and he became a champion, and that was my way to go. I have to step my game up bro, there’s no way.”
Since rejoining the UFC roster, Zalal has been on a tear with three-straight submission wins and two Performance of the Night bonuses. His streak earned him a big opportunity against Calvin Kattar (23-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 251 on Feb. 15 from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
