Youssef Zalal accused UFC Vegas 102 foe Calvin Kattar of cheating in their featherweight co-main event bout.
UFC featherweight contender Youssef Zalal carried the energy of his UFC Vegas 102 fight over to the post-fight press conference on Saturday.
Zalal, who is in his second-career stint with the UFC, outpointed Calvin Kattar for arguably the biggest win of his career at UFC Vegas 102 at the Apex. He overwhelmed Kattar with his grappling and timely striking, and Kattar had no answers on the feet or ground for the tactical Zalal.
After earning four-straight submission wins, including three of those coming to kick off his second UFC tenure, Zalal pressed Kattar with his grappling throughout the fight. But despite repeatedly getting into near-submission traps, Kattar was able to survive and make it the full three-round distance and landed some heavy blows late in Round 3.
After being unable to tap or choke out Kattar, Zalal accused the featherweight fan favorite of using Vaseline to make himself slippery in scrambles.
Youssef Zalal makes scathing accusation after UFC Vegas 102
During his UFC Vegas 102 post-fight press conference, Zalal accused Kattar of cheating when asked about his gameplan for the fight.
“This is the crazy part – we worked a lot of grappling, and I s— you not, I felt like there’s Vaseline all over his legs. I swear to God,” Zalal said of Kattar. “He was the most slippery guy I’ve ever seen in my life. I don’t want to be that guy…but man, that was suspicious…
“100 percent [more slippery]. Nobody slides that quick, no way. I’ve fought a lot of good guys like Jack Shore and all of those guys, I felt when you’re dry and all that stuff, there’s no way. It is what it is, you can cheat the sport and do whatever you want and at the end of the day, I’m doing me and that’s what’s going to get me to the top.”
As of this writing, Kattar hasn’t responded to Zalal’s allegations. He’s lost four consecutive fights, including recent defeats to Aljamain Sterling and Arnold Allen.
- READ MORE: Calvin Kattar slumps to fourth straight defeat against unranked featherweight at UFC Vegas 102
Calvin Kattar adds to UFC fighters accused of using Vaseline
Zalal earned a second UFC stint by winning a three-combat-sport tournament in Sparta Combat League after his UFC release in 2022. After winning the tournament in Aug. 2023, Zalal got a short-notice bout offer to face Billy Quarantillo last March, earning a second-round submission victory.
Kattar is far from the first UFC fighter to be accused of using Vaseline to impact an opponent’s performance in the cage. BJ Penn infamously filed a complaint against Georges St. Pierre after their title fight at UFC 94.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida repeatedly spoke out against fighters whose corners treated them with Vaseline during stoppages in between rounds.
While there’s no direct evidence that Kattar used Vaseline against Zalal, it wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened in UFC history. In either case, Zalal is fired up after extending his torrid return to the promotion.