An exciting high-stakes Featherweight fight between Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal headlines tonight’s UFC Fight Night at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The former UFC Bantamweight Champion, Sterling, is 36 years old and has a record of 26-5 with 11 finishes. The 29-year-old Zalal is 4-0 in his second UFC run and has appeared dominant with four victories by submission. Tonight’s UFC Fight Night Main Card begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
Check out my best bet for tonight’s Main Event matchup between Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal.
Aljamain Sterling Moneyline (+120)
After losing the Bantamweight title, Sterling moved up to Featherweight and has gone 2-1 in the division with victories over Calvin Kattar and Brian Ortega. But Sterling is looking to join an exclusive group in UFC history. That is becoming a two-division champion. 11 fighters have achieved that feat in UFC history (Randy Couture, B.J. Penn, Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes, Henry Cejudo, Jon Jones, Alex Pereira, Ilia Topuria, and Islam Makhachev).
Zalal’s two runs in the UFC have gone completely differently. In his first stint in the UFC, Zalal went 3-3-1, and it ended with a draw and three consecutive losses. He left the promotion, won three straight fights, and has returned to the UFC as a new and improved fighter.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Sterling is a +120 underdog while Zalal is the favorite in this contest at -142. The over/under is set at 4.5 rounds with the over being -195. Zalal is +165 to win by decision while Sterling is +240 to pick up the victory on the judges’ scorecards.
Even though Zalal has had elite submissions recently, the stats still favor Sterling. Sterling averages more significant strikes per minute and more takedowns per 15 minutes than Zalal does. I give the edge to Sterling in this contest due to his championship pedigree and having more five-round experience. Zalal has shown his elite submission ability lately, but if he can’t pull one off against Sterling, can he find other ways to win? In Zalal’s last eight fights, he has only been past the second round once. If Sterling makes this a longer contest, Zalal could struggle, as he doesn’t have much experience in those situations.
