Aljamain Sterling disclosed that he came close to being finished by a guillotine choke from Youssef Zalal during their fight. Sterling admitted he thought he was going to lose consciousness from the submission attempt. He refused to tap out despite the danger of passing out. Sterling explained his refusal was motivated by not wanting to give Zalal the satisfaction of making him submit. The post provides limited details about when this fight occurred or the final outcome.
Aljamain Sterling has opened up about how close he came to being finished by Youssef Zalal, revealing that a guillotine choke from the Moroccan Devil nearly rendered him unconscious during their featherweight contest.
Sterling, who carries a 26-5-0 record and sits fourth in the featherweight rankings, admitted he genuinely believed he was on the verge of blacking out from the submission attempt. The 36-year-old from the Serra-Longo Fight Team refused to tap, however, driven by a determination not to give Zalal the satisfaction of forcing a submission. Sterling, standing five-foot-seven with a 71-inch reach, averages 4.45 significant strikes per minute and lands them at a 52 percent clip, making him one of the more technically precise fighters in the division.
Zalal, ranked twelfth at featherweight and fighting out of Factory X, made the choke attempt look entirely credible on paper. The 29-year-old carries an 18-6-1 record and averages 1.4 submission attempts per 15 minutes, a figure that underscores his willingness to hunt for finishes on the ground. At five-foot-ten with a 72-inch reach, he holds a size advantage over Sterling and mixes his submission game with a takedown rate of 2.17 per 15 minutes.
Why it matters
- Sterling's candid admission highlights how dangerous Zalal's ground game can be, even for elite-level opponents
- The near-finish adds context to a divisional matchup between a top-five contender and a rising ranked fighter
- Sterling's refusal to tap speaks to his mental resolve, though surviving a near-blackout submission carries obvious physical risk
- At featherweight, a win or near-win at this level can reshape contender conversations quickly for a fighter in Zalal's position
