Top 5: UFC Vegas 116 ‘Fight of the Night’ candidates

Expectations continue to mobilize behind Youssef Zalal in the court of public opinion. “The Moroccan Devil” will attempt to move another step closer to outright stardom in the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division when he matches wits and fists with Aljamain Sterling in the UFC Fight Night 274 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Zalal, 29, has rattled off eight consecutive victories, seven of them finishes.

The Factory X standout last fought at UFC 320, where he dismissed Josh Emmett with an armbar 1:38 into the first round of their Oct. 4 encounter. It was the seventh first-round finish of Zalal’s career and fifth as a member of the UFC roster.

Sterling, meanwhile, carries a stellar 25-5 record into the cage. The Serra-Longo Fight Team rep last saw action on Aug. 23, when he took a unanimous decision from ex- Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion Brian Ortega at UFC Fight Night 257.

While Sterling has yet to establish a firm foothold at 145 pounds, he held the UFC bantamweight crown for nearly 900 days, from March 6, 2021 to Aug. 19, 2023. The Sterling-Zalal main event stands out as one of the prime candidates for “Fight of the Night” honors at UFC Fight Night 274.