Yussef Zalal aims to submit Aljamain Sterling at UFC Vegas 116

Yussef Zalal has made his intentions clear ahead of his main event appearance at UFC Vegas 116 this weekend, declaring that he plans to become the first fighter to submit Aljamain Sterling in a UFC bout.

Aljamain Sterling, known as "Funk Master," enters the fight ranked fourth in the featherweight division with a professional record of 26 wins and 5 losses. The 36-year-old American trains out of the Serra-Longo Fight Team and brings a well-rounded skill set built over a long career at the highest level. Standing five-foot-seven with a 71-inch reach, Sterling lands 4.45 significant strikes per minute at 52 percent accuracy and averages 2.45 takedowns per 15 minutes, reflecting his versatility on the feet and on the mat. He has never been submitted inside the UFC octagon, a streak that gives significant weight to Zalal's stated ambition.

Verified data for Zalal was not available in the database at time of publication, so detailed career statistics for the challenger cannot be confirmed here.

Why it matters

• Sterling has never been submitted in his UFC career, making Zalal's stated goal an historically difficult task
• The bout serves as the main event of UFC Vegas 116, giving both fighters a prime platform with divisional implications at stake
• A submission finish for Zalal would represent one of the more notable upsets in recent featherweight history, while a Sterling victory would reinforce his standing as a top-four contender in the division
• The stylistic question of whether Zalal can force the grappling exchanges necessary to threaten a fighter with Sterling's submission defense will be central to the fight's outcome