UFC prospect Youssef Zalal continued his impressive winning run with an impressive victory that saw him overcome a newly legal strike.
The featherweight defeated Jack Shore to earn a second performance bonus in as many fights and continue his winning return to the UFC. He had previously left the promotion after three straight losses and a draw, including going the distance with current champion Ilia Topuria.
And Zalal has looked a new man since returning to the octagon back in March. He won three times on the regional scene and picked up victories in boxing and kickboxing before being re-signed and going on a three-fight winning run.
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Jack Shore lands first knee under new UFC rules
Heading into last night’s outing, Zalal and Shore were considered to be relatively evenly matched. This seemed to ring true in a close first round which became historic for the Welshman’s use of a newly-legal technique to force his rival to the ground.
Under the previous MMA unified rules, a fighter could theoretically stall the action against the cage by putting a hand on the cavas. This rendered them a ‘downed’ opponent and unable to be hit by knee strikes in the head.
But the new rules have rewritten what consitutes downed, and allow for more attacks from the offensive fighter. And Shore used that to his advantage as he launched a newly-legal knee at the Moroccan, who had to readjust after the major blow.
Youssef Zalal lands knee of his own to stop Jack Shore and earn $50,000 bonus
However, the most important knee of the fight turned out not to be Shore’s, but one landed in the second by Zalal. The featherweight had won the first round on all three scorecards, and went for the finish in the second.
He found it when a beautiful flying knee floored Shore and almost saw the bout stopped right away. The Welshman recovered, but not in time to avoid being locked into an arm triangle to record his third loss in the octagon.
While Zalal is now on the run of his life, Shore has slumped to 17-3 after initially going 16-0 as a professional. His last four fights have seen him win just once; against Makwan Amirkhani in March of last year, and take three defeats, all of which were by stoppage.
Zalal’s impressive performance saw him amongst the night’s bonuses, with three others joining him for earning stoppages. None of the 13 fights were given Fight of the Night, instead saving the prizes for Zalal as well as Charles Jourdain, Dustin Stoltzfus and Jasmine Jasudavicius.
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Immediately after his victory, Zalal spoke to legendary two-weight world champion Daniel Cormier in an explosive interview. He thanked the Edmonton crowd and cheered on their native Oilers hockey team, before declaring his support for the king of Morocco.
“Hey man, I told you guys,” he stated. “First of all I want to say Alhamdulillah, I told you guys when I came in here, I want to be a world champion and I will be a world champion.
“I don’t care if you’re a black belt and all this stuff, I’m a black belt and you’ve got to face me. That’s what’s most important.”
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