Aljamain Sterling wanted a fight, and he’ll get his wish in a big one at 145 pounds.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that the former UFC bantamweight champion faces Youssef Zalal. The event takes place on April 25 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
Brazilian reporter Leo Guimaraes was the first to report the news on Twitter.
Sterling is coming off a dominant win over Brian Ortega at UFC Shanghai this past August. “Funk Master” recently expressed his frustrations
to MMA Fighting following his RAF 6 win over Benson Henderson about his lack of booking, and now finds himself in a potential title eliminator in his fourth bout in the featherweight division. Sterling also holds a win over Calvin Kattar and a competitive decision loss to Movsar Evloev during his 145-pound run.
Zalal enters the bout on an impressive eight-fight win streak as he looks to take a step closer to a title shot. In his most recent bout, Zalal shocked Josh Emmett with a 98-second submission win at UFC 320 this past October. “The Moroccan Devil” also picked up wins over Kattar and Jack Shore on his current streak.
UFC Vegas 116 is headlined by a welterweight contest between Sean Brady and Joaquin Buckley.
Damon Martin contributed to this report.
