Aljamain Sterling is set to headline UFC Vegas 116 in a five-round featherweight main event against Youssef Zalal at Meta APEX.
Sterling was originally scheduled to compete on a Newark card before being moved into the headlining slot at the Apex. The bout marks a pivotal featherweight clash, with Sterling coming off a dominant win over Brian Ortega in the co-main event of UFC Shanghai this past August.
“We were originally supposed to be on the Newark card, and then I was told that they’re going to be moving us to the main event in the Apex, which I said was OK too,” Sterling said, adding that he initially favored a shorter fight. “I kind of preferred the three rounds. My thought process is just more fighting for, I don’t want to say for less, but it’s just more work. It’s just more work—more sparring, more cardio, more intense training sessions. I prefer to do that really for title shot opportunities and stuff like that, but it is what it is. It’s still a fight. It’s a good fight, and it’s a tough competitor against a guy who’s surging right now. A hot prospect [who has] found his groove after he got cut and came back, and now he’s on fire, man.”
Zalal enters his first UFC main event on an eight-fight win streak and is 5-0 since his UFC return, including a 98-second submission win over Josh Emmett at UFC 320 this past October.
“So that’s kind of the way I’m approaching this, and if I can get the job done in a good fashion, I think the door is wide open for me to jump in there for a potential title shot or at least be one of the next guys in line,” Sterling said.
