Everything seems to have clicked for Youssef Zalal.
The Marc Montoya protégé faces perhaps his most difficult test to date and tries to move one step closer to contention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division when he toes the line against Aljamain Sterling in the UFC Fight Night 274 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Zalal, 29, steps into the spotlight on the strength of a career-best eight-fight winning streak that now spans more than 1,200 days. He last saw action at UFC 320, where he put away Team Alpha Male’s Josh Emmett with an armbar a mere 98 seconds into their Oct. 4 encounter. It was Zalal’s fastest finish as a pro and propelled him into the Top 10 rankings at 145 pounds.
A 13-fight lineup at UFC Fight Night 274 features several fighters on the rise, with Zalal at the front of the line. Four others to monitor:
Violent predispositions have made Edwards impossible to ignore. The Panamanian hunts her latest potential victim when she zeroes in on Norma Dumont in a three-round women’s bantamweight co-main event that provides a platform for two would-be contenders at 135 pounds. After a rather non-descript start to her UFC tenure, Edwards has hit the accelerator and pieced together a run of four straight victories. All four have resulted in finishes, highlighted by first-round knockouts of Chelsea Chandler and Priscila Cachoeira. Edwards, 30, last suited up on Feb. 21, when she dispatched Nora Cornolle with a rear-naked choke midway through the second round of their UFC Fight Night 267 pairing. The Kings MMA rep held titles in the King of the Cage and Panama Fight League promotions prior to her arrive in the UFC.
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Montague may carry the late-bloomer tag, but she certainly appears ready, willing and able to make up for lost time. The undefeated American Top Team-trained Kiwi draws her second assignment inside the Octagon when she takes on Mayra Bueno Silva in a three-round women’s bantamweight prelim. Montague, 32, moves back into view with a perfect 7-0 record in tow. The Professional Fighters League alum last strapped on the gloves at UFC Fight Night 260, where she outpointed Luana Carolina to a unanimous decision across three rounds on Sept. 27. Montague, the first woman from New Zealand to compete in the UFC, did not start her formal training until she was 20 years old.
Martinetti was a relative unknown until he appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series and emerged as the last man standing in a remarkable 15-minute firefight with Mark Vologdin on Oct. 7. The 30-year-old Entram Gym product makes his anticipated promotional debut opposite “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 18 finalist Davey Grant in a three-round bantamweight attraction. Martinetti, a star on the regional circuit in his native Mexico, enters the Octagon armed with an impressive 17-1 record and the wind of a 15-fight winning streak at his back. The ex-Ultimate Warrior Challenge champion has secured more than half (10) of his 17 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
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Though he has yet to fully take off in the 125-pound weight class, Filho continues to show signs of development. The Nova Uniao rep seeks his second win in as many outings when he locks horns with Cody Durden—a late-notice replacement for Lucas Rocha—in a three-round flyweight battle on the undercard. Filho, 32, last competed on Oct. 11, when he dismissed Clayton Carpenter with a kimura in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 261 confrontation. The former Shooto Brazil champion now boasts 16 finishes among his 17 professional victories, nine of the first-round variety. Filho punched his ticket to the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022.
