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. Four more to consider:
A flair for the dramatic has kept Hernandez relevant at 155 pounds. The Marc Montoya protégé marches into his lightweight showcase opposite Garcia on the strength of a four-fight winning streak. Hernandez, 33, last appeared at UFC Fight Night 259, where he put away Diego Ferreira with punches in the second round of their Sept. 13 confrontation. It was preceded by victories over Austin Hubbard, Kurt Holobaugh and Chase Hooper. Hernandez burst on the scene some eight years ago when he punched out Beneil Dariush a mere 42 seconds into his organizational debut. On the other side of the equation, Garcia steps onto the battlefield on the heels of back-to-back wins over Vinc Pichel and Jared Gordon. The 31-year-old Brawley, California, native struck gold in Combate Global before he migrated to the UFC. Garcia has compiled a 6-4 mark across his 10 assignments inside the Octagon.
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Matchmakers wasted no time in putting Martinetti to the test. A former Ultimate Warrior Challenge champion in Mexico, the 30-year-old Ecuadorian puts his 15-fight winning streak on the line when he toes the line against Grant in a three-round bantamweight attraction. Martinetti locked down his spot in the UFC on Oct. 7, when he outlasted Mark Vologdin to a unanimous decision in a 15-minute firefight on Dana White’s Contender Series. He connected with 165 significant strikes in the contract-clinching victory. Grant, meanwhile, was woven into the UFC fabric as a finalist on Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in 2013. The Syndicate MMA-trained Englishman last strapped on the gloves at UFC Fight Night 262, where he surrendered to a guillotine choke in the first round of his Oct. 8 pairing with Charles Jourdain. Grant, 40, has pieced together an 8-7 record with the company, his stay highlighted by wins over Marlon Vera, Jonathan Martinez and Raphael Assuncao.
Filho at times looks like a potential star, but random bouts of inconsistency have slowed his rise through the ranks. The Nova Uniao representative tries to stay on track when he faces Cody Durden—a late-notice replacement for Lucas Rocha—in a makeshift bantamweight prelim between traditional flyweights. Filho, 32, sports a 3-2 record in the UFC, his victories over Clayton Carpenter, Ode Osborne and Daniel Barez offset by losses to Muhammad Mokaev and Alan Nascimento. The onetime Shooto Brazil champion boasts 16 finishes, 11 of them by submission, among his 17 pro wins. Filho punched his ticket to the UFC via DWCS in September 2022. On the other side of the ledger, the always-entertaining Durden finds himself in a tailspin. The American Top Team-trained Covington, Georgia, native returns to the stage on a four-fight losing streak. Durden last suited up at UFC 326, where wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Nyamjargal Tumendemberel in March.
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Marshall wants to build some momentum. The Contender Series graduate sets out in search of a second straight win when he tackles Brennan in a compelling three-round lightweight prelim between two sought-after prospects who have not yet lived up to the hype that once accompanied them. Marshall started his career 7-0 but has lost three of his five fights since. The 27-year-old Kurt Pellegrino protégé last competed on Feb. 28, when he swept aside Erik Silva with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 268 dust-up. It was Marshall’s first submission victory in more than four years. Brennan, meanwhile, waltzes into his Octagon debut after back-to-back wins on the regional scene in Texas. The Syndicate MMA-honed Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has eight first-round finishes to his credit. Brennan last answered the call to arms under the Xtreme Knockout banner on Oct. 10, when he dispatched Joshua Weems with a rear-naked choke in a little less than five minutes.
