Fighter profile

Youssef Zalal

“The Moroccan Devil”

Featherweight · UFC record 8-4-1 · 13 detailed UFC fights · Last fight Sat 25 Apr 2026

Defensive StrikerSubmission Hunter

Fighter ratings

Ratings V2Rated

Striking (offense)77

Power66

Striking defense90

Takedown defense68

WrestlingProvisional measure74

Ratings V2 descriptive 0–100 scores (13 detailed fights; as of Sat 25 Apr 2026). Not win probabilities or rankings. Missing values stay unavailable.

Chin and Cardio · Frozen through October 17, 2026

R1 research scale

ChinEvidence: DEVELOPING86.5

CardioEvidence: ESTABLISHED65.0

Source: R1 public_candidate_display · status: Research candidate · as of Sat 17 Oct 2026. Separate frozen research scale; fights after October 17, 2026 are not reflected.

About these ratings

Ratings are domain-specific descriptive scales. Equal point differences across different domains do not imply equal absolute skill differences.

Striking (offense) · Ratings V2: Ratings V2 striking-offense score built from recorded significant strikes landed per round, significant-strike accuracy and significant-strike differential.
Power · Ratings V2: Recorded knockdown and KO/TKO-win threat under the Ratings V2 contract (knockdowns per round, KO/TKO win rate); not literal measured punching force.
Striking defense · Ratings V2: Recorded strike avoidance (striking defense) and bounded absorption (strikes absorbed per round) under the Ratings V2 contract.
Takedown defense · Ratings V2: Recorded defense against incoming takedown attempts (takedown defense rate) under the Ratings V2 contract.
Wrestling · Ratings V2: Ratings V2 wrestling-offense score: recorded takedowns landed per round and takedown accuracy. Not ground control or complete grappling.
Chin · R1 research scale: Exposure-adjusted recorded knockdown resistance. This is not a direct biological measurement of chin, recovery, or injury resistance.
Cardio · R1 research scale: Recorded later-round striking activity and effectiveness retention. This is not a direct physiological fitness measurement.

Ratings V2 scores follow each fighter's latest recorded state; R1 research-scale scores are frozen through 17 Oct 2026. Recovery is separate metadata, not a rating. No combined rating exists.

Profile

Height: 178 cm (5'10")
Reach: 183 cm (6'0")
Stance: Switch
Age: 30

Last 3: W W W (most recent last)

Career statistics

Descriptive

13 detailed UFC fights · 35 rounds of recorded statistics. Exact totals from recorded UFC fights through Sat 25 Apr 2026; not opponent-adjusted and not model inputs.

Strikes landed13.0significant, per round

Strikes absorbed8.3per round

Striking differential+4.6per round

Takedown attempts1.80per round

Takedown defense55.8%of attempts stopped

Finish rate50.0%of UFC wins

Striking

Significant strikes landed per round: 13.0
Significant strikes absorbed per round: 8.3
Differential per round (landed − absorbed): +4.6
Striking accuracy: 50.9%
Striking defense (opponent strikes avoided): 64.9%
Knockdowns per round: 0.06
Target: head / body / leg: 63.4% / 16.7% / 19.8%
Position: distance / clinch / ground: 85.7% / 6.2% / 8.2%

Per-round figures divide recorded totals by rounds with statistics. Shares are of significant strikes landed.

Wrestling and grappling

Takedown attempts per round: 1.80
Takedowns landed per round: 0.57
Takedown accuracy: 31.8%
Takedown defense: 55.8%
Control time per round: 1:21
Submission attempts per round: 0.40
Reversals per round: 0.17

Attempts and landed takedowns are counted separately; accuracy is landed ÷ attempted.

Outcomes and durability

UFC record (W-L-D, NC): 8-4-1
Finish rate (wins by KO/TKO or submission): 50.0%
Wins by KO/TKO · submission · decision: 0 · 4 · 4
Losses by KO/TKO · submission · decision: 0 · 0 · 4
Knockdowns scored / suffered: 2 / 0
Average fight time: 11:29 (over 9 bouts)

Results as recorded by UFCStats. Fight time is elapsed time (completed rounds plus ending time) and includes draws and no-contests. These are outcomes, not biological measurements.

UFC fight history

Youssef Zalal — most recent UFC fights
Date	Opponent	Result	Method	End	Event
Sat 25 Apr 2026	Aljamain Sterling	L	U-DEC	R5 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal
Sat 4 Oct 2025	Josh Emmett	W	SUB Armbar	R1 1:38	UFC 320: Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2
Sat 15 Feb 2025	Calvin Kattar	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Rodrigues
Sat 2 Nov 2024	Jack Shore	W	SUB Arm Triangle	R2 0:59	UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi
Sat 10 Aug 2024	Jarno Errens	W	SUB Rear Naked Choke	R1 3:52	UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs. Spivac 2

Show all 13 UFC fights

Youssef Zalal — earlier UFC fights
Date	Opponent	Result	Method	End	Event
Sat 23 Mar 2024	Billy Quarantillo	W	SUB Rear Naked Choke	R2 1:50	UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs. Namajunas
Sat 13 Aug 2022	Da'Mon Blackshear	D	M-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Vera vs. Cruz
Sat 5 Jun 2021	Sean Woodson	L	S-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai
Sat 6 Feb 2021	SeungWoo Choi	L	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov
Sat 10 Oct 2020	Ilia Topuria	L	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen
Sat 8 Aug 2020	Peter Barrett	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik
Sat 27 Jun 2020	Jordan Griffin	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Hooker
Sat 8 Feb 2020	Austin Lingo	W	U-DEC	R3 5:00	UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes

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