Aljamain Sterling has gold on his mind after putting on a dominant performance taking out Youssef Zalal in the UFC Vegas 116 main event.
It was a vintage performance from Sterling, who repeatedly put Zalal down on the ground and then just outgrappled him at every turn. Whether he was blasting away with punches or looking for submissions, Sterling never gave Zalal much room to breathe and he maintained that control until the final second ticked away on the clock.
In the end, the judges all gave the fight to Sterling with identical 49-45 scorecards as he moved to 3-1 since joining the featherweight division.
“Youssef’s a tough dude,” Sterling said after the win. “I had to take my time, use some of the stuff we’ve been game planning for … I want to compete more. I’m trying to make one more title run. I trained with him before, I knew he was hard to choke and finish. I’m just happy to be back.
“Movsar [Evloev], I’m coming for that ass next. [Alexander] Volkanovski, you know I’m coming for that ass.”
Of course, Sterling’s only loss came in a back-and-forth battle against Movsar Evloev, who appears destined to fight for the title next after he stayed undefeated with his recent win over Lerone Murphy. Still, Sterling stated his case why he should be in consideration for a title shot of his own, especially after his performance on Saturday.
“Give me my shot,” Sterling shouted. “I’ve worked so hard for this. I’ve been with this company for 12 years. That was my 23rd UFC fight. I’ve only fought three unranked guys since I got signed to this company. My third fight in the UFC was the sixth ranked guy in the world and I haven’t looked back since.
“So put some motherf*cking respect on my name when I say I’m next in line for that motherf*cking title shot. Everybody else — D-Generation X: Suck it.”
As for Zalal, his undefeated run since returning to the UFC roster came to an end but he praised Sterling for his performance and promised he’d get back on track when he competes next.
“All I’ve got to say, give it up to Aljamain Sterling,” Zalal said. “He did a fantastic f*cking job. I’ll be back. I did come back before and I’ll come back again.”
In a battle between two well-known grapplers, Sterling opened with kicks but then found a home for a pair of overhand rights that slipped through Zalal’s defense. Midway through the opening round, Sterling shot for his first takedown but Zalal shrugged him off before the featherweight reset in the center of the octagon.
Sterling got the fight to the ground after a slick calf kick took Zalal off his feet and he dove on him to begin working his grappling game. Zalal kept looking for a triangle choke from the bottom but the round ended on top, throwing knees to the body on the ground.
On the restart, Zalal started marching forward and nearly clipped Sterling with step in knee that could have easily scored a knockout if the former bantamweight champion ducked his head in that moment. That led to another takedown attempt from Sterling but Zalal resisted before connecting with a slick jab after finding room to work again.
But Zalal made a crucial error when he got too aggressive and that allowed Sterling to take him to the ground before immediately jumping on the back. Sterling secured the body triangle and began raining down punches, trying to inflict maximum damage rather than working for a submission.
Another takedown attempt from Sterling opened the third round but this time Zalal snatched a guillotine choke that got tight in a hurry. Sterling was forced to surrender the position to escape and Zalal ended up on top for the first time.
Zalal maintained control but he wasn’t able to do a lot of damage, although he eventually passed into side control. That quickly advanced into taking Sterling’s back with Zalal looking for the submission finish.
After spending so much time on the ground, Sterling came out firing in the fourth round, cracking Zalal with some hard shots before security another takedown. Sterling took the back again and began hammering away with punches.
Sterling was just overwhelming on the ground and Zalal was forced to shift into survival mode as he continued eating punches and trying to fend off submission attempts.
With five minutes remaining, Zalal had to get a finish and he scored early with another knee along with some solid punches but Sterling was able to grab onto him against the cage to look for the takedown. Sterling eventually dragged him to the ground again and Zalal felt the fight completely slipping away from him.
Sterling’s suffocating performance on the ground could have only gone better if he got the finish but he he proved he’s one of the top featherweights in the sport with his win. Now he has to wait and see what the UFC plans to do next with all signs pointing towards Evloev battling Alexander Volkanovski for the title later this year.