Youssef Zalal hopes a win over Calvin Kattar in February will get him one giant step closer to a long-awaited rematch with reigning UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
Zalal’s second stint with the promotion has been nothing short of spectacular. In the span of eight months, ‘The Moroccan Devil’ has notched a trio of big wins over Billy Quarantillo, Jarno Errens, and Jack Shore. Next, he’ll look to climb into the featherweight top 10 when he meets division standout Calvin Kattar in a Fight Night co-main event on February 15.
Speaking with James Lynch in a MiddleEasy exclusive interview, Zalal offered his thoughts on their unique pairing and the interesting puzzle that ‘The Boston Finisher’ brings to all of his opponents.
“He’s a powerful striker,” Zalal said. “He’s big for the weight class as well. He has size on him, but I’m just excited for the puzzle. I’m a well-rounded fighter and I’m excited to put all my skills together, but a lot of people don’t know my striking that well so I feel like if I get the opportunity to show it, I’ll show it. If not, obviously it’s an MMA fight so we’ll see where the fight goes, but I’m super excited.”
As for how he sees the fight playing out, Zalal is planning to make a statement and do what nobody else has done inside the Octagon thus far and finish Kattar decisively.
“I told you, man. I’m not here to go get a boring decision and all this stuff. I want to go out there, get a finish, and be the first guy to finish Calvin,” Zalal said. “I told you in the Jack Shore fight, didn’t I? It’s the pressure, but you’re going with a guy that’s like 30 fights deep professionally that’s only been finished once outside the UFC.
“Then you see all the high-level fights and [they] couldn’t do it. So you go and do it and it changes your whole life and that’s what I’m here to do. I want to change my life and my family’s life.”
Of course, Kattar did suffer a TKO loss against Arnold Allen in 2022, but that was only after Kattar suffered a knee injury in the opening seconds of the second round. Aside from that, Kattar has never been finished inside the Octagon.
Youssef Zalal is Gunning for a Rematch with Ilia Topuria
With a win over Calvin Kattar, Youssef Zalal will thrust himself into the featherweight top 10, potentially setting the stage for a rematch with the division’s reigning king.
During his first stint with the promotion, Zalal went the distance with Ilia Topuria in October 2020. Though he came up short, Zalal is only one of two fighters to go the distance with Topuria—a performance he’s ready to improve upon whether it means fighting Topuria for the featherweight crown or following the Georgian up to 155 for a lightweight showdown.
“There’s only two guys who have gone the distance [with Ilia Topuria], me and [Josh] Emmett and I’m fighting that guy,” Zalal said. “I’m getting the rematch and if I have to go to 155, I’ll go to 155.”
“El Matador” Ilia Topuria(8-0) vs “The Moroccan Devil” Youssef Zalal(10-2)
UFC Fight Island: Moraes vs Sandhagen
October 10th 2020
Fighter: @ZiggyStardizzy
Topuria takes this on short notice to make his UFC Debut. pic.twitter.com/lu0LO6OExC
— Underrated Tribal Chief (@CombatUTC) August 27, 2024
While Zalal is more than willing to follow Topuria to lightweight, ‘The Moroccan Devil’ can’t see the champ moving up anytime soon.
“I don’t think so,” Zalal said when asked about Topuria’s potential jump up to 155. “I think he’s going to stay at 145.”
Topuria has not yet booked his second featherweight title defense, but Zalal believes that ex-titleholder Alexander Volkanovski is more than deserving of his own rematch against ‘El Matador’ given the years he spent sitting atop the 145-pound throne.
“You know how this sport is, man,” Zalal said. ‘These guys always want to be like, ‘Oh my god, you suck. Why should he get it? Give it to the younger guy.’ Bro, look at what [Volkanovski] did for the division. [Topuria] is just getting started. He’s defending his belt for the second time. Yeah, sure, the younger guy is moving up, but you gotta respect the work [Volkanovski] did to get there.”
Watch the full exclusive interview below:
