Youssef Zalal shares encouraging words after UFC Vegas 116 loss, Aljamain Sterling responds

Youssef Zalal didn’t take long to speak out after falling short at UFC Vegas 116.

Zalal and Aljamain Sterling shared the Octagon in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card inside the Meta Apex. Sterling put his superb grappling on display, earning a unanimous decision victory. The former UFC Bantamweight Champion now moves one step closer to challenging for 145-pound gold.

As for Zalal, it’s a setback against a former world titleholder. His eight-fight winning streak is snapped, but he plans to push forward. “The Moroccan Devil” had a positive outlook in a short post on his Instagram page.

“Alhamdulillah!! Thank you guys for all the support I’ll be back,” Zalal wrote. “Keep smiling.”

Sterling commented on the post and gave Zalal some big praise.

“Always love my brotha! You pushed me to new limits and I hope I pushed you too! Wallahi you will be champion one day!”

Sterling has been calling for a shot at Alexander Volkanovski’s UFC Featherweight Championship. It might be a tough sell to the UFC brass as Sterling has a unanimous decision loss against Movsar Evloev, who is ahead in the title race. Some even think that Jean Silva’s exciting fighting style and personality may allow him to leapfrog the competition.

Zalal was hoping to find himself in the conversation after Saturday. Zalal will turn 30 this September, so time is still on his side. Whether or not he can eventually shatter the glass ceiling will be a story to watch from this point on. Prior to Saturday’s outing against Sterling, Zalal hadn’t lost a pro MMA bout since June 2021 when he dropped a split decision to Sean Woodson.

Do you think Youssef Zalal can improve enough to become a UFC champion in the future? Has he already hit his ceiling? Share your analysis in the comments below.