{"id":105198,"date":"2026-06-04T06:59:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T06:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grizzliz.com\/media\/fighter\/youssef-zalal\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T11:41:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T11:41:30","slug":"youssef-zalal","status":"publish","type":"fighter_profile","link":"https:\/\/www.grizzliz.com\/media\/fighter\/youssef-zalal\/","title":{"rendered":"Youssef Zalal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Youssef Zalal \u2014 Le Diable Marocain qui a failli dispara\u00eetre de l’UFC<\/h2>\n

N\u00e9 le 4 septembre 1996 \u00e0 Casablanca, Youssef Zalal a tout construit deux fois. Sorti de l’UFC en ao\u00fbt 2022 apr\u00e8s une s\u00e9rie de d\u00e9faites aux points, le poids plume marocain est revenu en mars 2024 et ne s’est plus arr\u00eat\u00e9 : huit victoires de suite, dont sept par arr\u00eat avant la limite. Une trajectoire qui force le respect.<\/p>\n

De Casablanca \u00e0 l’Octogone<\/h3>\n

Zalal grandit \u00e0 Casablanca dans un environnement o\u00f9 les bagarres sont monnaie courante. Sa m\u00e8re le met au kickboxing \u00e0 10 ans pour canaliser cette \u00e9nergie. \u00c0 15 ans, il quitte le Maroc pour le Colorado, s’installe \u00e0 Englewood et int\u00e8gre l’\u00e9quipe Factory X. Il passe par les circuits r\u00e9gionaux am\u00e9ricains \u2014 LFA, SCL, Sparta \u2014 affiche un bilan de 7-2 avant de signer \u00e0 l’UFC. Sa progression est rapide, son parcours est r\u00e9el.<\/p>\n

Le 8 f\u00e9vrier 2020, il fait ses d\u00e9buts \u00e0 l’UFC 247 face \u00e0 Austin Lingo et s’impose par d\u00e9cision unanime. Il encha\u00eene deux autres victoires en 2020, dont un arr\u00eat contre Peter Barrett. Puis une s\u00e9rie noire s’installe : trois d\u00e9faites en quatre combats, toutes aux points. En ao\u00fbt 2022, l’UFC le licencie.<\/p>\n

La remont\u00e9e<\/h3>\n

Zalal ne dispara\u00eet pas. Il continue de boxer, de gagner hors UFC, et reconstruit une s\u00e9rie de cinq victoires cons\u00e9cutives, dont plusieurs par soumission. L’UFC le reprend en mars 2024 face \u00e0 Billy Quarantillo \u2014 Zalal le soumet \u00e0 la rear-naked choke au deuxi\u00e8me round. Bonus Performance of the Night en ao\u00fbt 2024 contre Jarno Errens (soumission), second bonus contre Jack Shore \u00e0 Edmonton en novembre 2024 (arm-triangle). En f\u00e9vrier 2025, il bat Calvin Kattar aux points sur trois rounds \u2014 son nom entre enfin dans les conversations s\u00e9rieuses du top 10. En octobre 2025, il soumet Josh Emmett \u00e0 l’armbar d\u00e8s la premi\u00e8re minute trente. Huit victoires de rang.<\/p>\n

Le 25 avril 2026 \u00e0 Las Vegas (UFC Vegas 116), il affronte Aljamain Sterling en combat principal \u2014 cinq rounds, d\u00e9faite aux points 49-45 sur les trois cartes. Son premier vrai gros test \u00e0 ce niveau. Il perd, mais il \u00e9tait l\u00e0.<\/p>\n

Style et profil technique<\/h3>\n

Zalal est ceinture noire de BJJ, kickboxeur form\u00e9 d\u00e8s l’enfance \u2014 la combinaison se voit dans l’Octogone. Ses dix victoires par soumission (brabo choke, rear-naked choke, armbar, guillotine) montrent un grappling au sol r\u00e9ellement dangereux, pas juste un striking qui finit par coucher l’adversaire. Il mesure 1,78 m pour une allonge de 183 cm, poids plume (66 kg). Stance orthodoxe. Quand il impose sa distance en pied-poing, les \u00e9changes vont vite. Quand il clinche, les choses deviennent dangereuses pour l’adversaire.<\/p>\n

O\u00f9 il en est<\/h3>\n

Class\u00e9 #8 en poids plumes UFC au 28 avril 2026, Zalal est l’un des combattants marocains les plus grad\u00e9s de l’histoire de l’organisation. La d\u00e9faite contre Sterling n’efface pas une s\u00e9rie de huit victoires dont la majorit\u00e9 avant la limite \u2014 elle confirme juste qu’il reste un palier \u00e0 franchir pour rejoindre l’\u00e9lite absolue de la division. \u00c0 29 ans, il a encore du temps.<\/p>\n

Sources :<\/strong> Wikipedia (EN)<\/a>, UFC.com<\/a>, Wikipedia \u2014 UFC Fight Night : Sterling vs. Zalal<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Youssef Zalal, poids plume marocain de l’UFC surnomm\u00e9 \u00ab\u00a0The Moroccan Devil\u00a0\u00bb, revenu apr\u00e8s un licenciement en 2022 pour encha\u00eener 8 victoires de suite. Record MMA : 18-6-1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":101504,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"fighter_category":[],"fighter_tag":[],"class_list":["post-105198","fighter_profile","type-fighter_profile","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYoussef Zalal - Biographie MMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Biographie compl\u00e8te de Youssef Zalal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.grizzliz.com\/media\/fighter\/youssef-zalal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Youssef Zalal - Biographie MMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Biographie compl\u00e8te de Youssef Zalal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.grizzliz.com\/media\/fighter\/youssef-zalal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grizzliz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/people\/Grizzliz\/61585516850193\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-20T11:41:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.grizzliz.com\/media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2702.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"254\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.grizzliz.com\/media\/fighter\/youssef-zalal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.grizzliz.com\/media\/fighter\/youssef-zalal\/\",\"name\":\"Youssef Zalal - 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