Overview
- The main event streams on Paramount+ from Las Vegas on Saturday, with prelims at 5 p.m. ET and the main card at 8 p.m. ET.
- Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, 2-1 since moving to featherweight, says a statement win would strengthen his case to face Alexander Volkanovski.
- Youssef Zalal enters his first UFC main event on an eight-fight streak and is 5-0 since rejoining the promotion, now ranked No. 7 at featherweight.
- UFC analyst Alan Jouban views this as a contender test and says the winner will be in the mix but probably still one victory away from a title shot given the current queue.
- Tactics loom large in the smaller APEX cage as Sterling targets heavy wrestling and even predicted a third-round rear-naked choke, while Zalal, who has four UFC featherweight submissions, still aims to make a finish-worthy statement.