Yussef Zalal wants to submit Aljamain Sterling at UFC Vegas 116

Yussef Zalal has set himself a bold target heading into UFC Vegas 116 this weekend, declaring he wants to become the first fighter to submit Aljamain Sterling when the two meet in the main event.

Sterling enters the bout ranked fourth in the featherweight division, carrying a professional record of 26 wins and 5 losses. The 36-year-old American, who trains out of the Serra-Longo Fight Team and competes out of an orthodox stance, built his reputation as one of the sport's most technically complete grapplers. Standing five-foot-seven with a 71-inch reach, the former bantamweight champion lands 4.45 significant strikes per minute at a 52 percent accuracy rate and averages 2.45 takedowns per 15 minutes. Crucially, no opponent has ever finished him by submission across his entire professional career.

Zalal's declaration is therefore an ambitious one. The fighter did not detail specific strategic or training camp adjustments behind the claim, but his stated goal targets the one area of Sterling's game that has historically proven untouchable on the ground.

Why it matters

• Sterling has never been submitted professionally, making Zalal's stated goal a genuinely historic ambition
• A submission finish over Sterling, a renowned grappling specialist, would carry significant divisional weight at featherweight
• The stylistic clash between Zalal's offensive submission hunting and Sterling's elite defensive grappling shapes up as a compelling technical contest on the ground
• The outcome could meaningfully shift the featherweight rankings picture, with Sterling currently sitting at number four in the division