Fan favorite Billy Quarantillo fires back at Youssef Zalal after his UFC Vegas 89 opponent claimed to be champion Ilia Topuria’s ‘toughest’ challenge to date.
Zalal took the current UFC featherweight champion to the judges’ scorecards in 2020 and in the build-up to UFC Vegas 89 this weekend, claimed to have been the toughest matchup that the Georgian-Spanish superstar has faced in his career to date.
Certainly not wanting to be overlooked ahead of their Apex showdown, veteran Billy Quarantillo has responded by questioning his opponent’s UFC record and mentality, even going as far as to claim that he sees Zalal’s career “more clearly” than ‘The Moroccan Devil’ himself.
Billy Quarantillo questions UFC Vegas 89 opponent’s record
Billy Quarantillo enters UFC Vegas 89 this weekend on the back of an impressive unanimous decision victory over Damon Jackson, whilst opponent Youssef Zalal is set to make his second stint in the UFC after being released by the promotion in 2022.
Yet during fight week, Zalal has been one of the most outspoken and self-confident fighters out of all athletes competing at the Apex this weekend, even going as far as to claim that he was the “toughest” fighter that current featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has faced in the UFC.
Unsurprisingly, Quarantillo has dismissed such a claim as nonsensical, firing back at the Moroccan fighter by calling into question his UFC record before being unceremoniously cut from the roster:
“I saw him talking about how he felt like he beat Ilia Topuria – I did not score it for him at all, he got taken down five times. He hasn’t beaten anyone with a winning record in the UFC and he’s also I think he’s 0-3 and one in his last four UFC fights.”
Whilst the New York native shared that he does “respect his skillset” and the journey Zalal’s taken back to the big leagues, Quarantillo noted that “I see it a little more clear than other people see it, and I think I see it more clear than he sees how his career has gone so far.”
“So as an opponent, I think he’s got a lot of skills, [but] I don’t think this is a great matchup for him though.”
‘Billy Q’ says he’s been expecting to face Zalal for some time
Whilst both fighters are at vastly different crossroads in their professional careers, Quarantillo remembers that there was a time when they both could have fought under widely different circumstances:
“I looked up his record, I watched you know some of his fights back. He was someone that I remembered in like 2019/2020 that I thought we were going to get matched up – I think we were both 3-0 at one point.”
“He was someone that I thought I was going to get matched up with and then I forgot about him because he wasn’t in the league still,” said the 35-year-old fan favorite.
It may be several years removed, but Quarantillo and Zalal will finally get to meet this weekend in Las Vegas – it all goes down this Saturday from the Apex.