Youssef Zalal dominates in return with submission finish of Billy Quarantillo at UFC Vegas 89
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, March 23, 2024, for UFC Vegas 89, going down live from the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada.
Headlining the event is a women’s strawweight bout between no. 7 ranked Amanda Ribas (13-4) and former two-time UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (11-6).
Co-headlining the event is a heavyweight bout between Karl Williams (9-1) and Justin Tafa (7-3).
Our feature fight of the evening came in the middleweight division between Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4) and AJ Dobson (7-2).
The second bout of tonight’s main card came in the featherweight division between Billy Quarantillo (18-6) and the returning Youssef Zalal (14-5-1).
Following a 3-0 start to his promotional tenure, Quarantillo came into tonight’s contest having gone 3-3 over his last six, most recently defeating Damon Jackson (UD) this past August.
Zalal on the other hand also began his first stint with the UFC on a three-fight winning streak. He’d then go 0-3-1 over his next four, beginning with a loss to Ilia Topuria, before being released from the promotion in 2022. Since then however he’d gone 3-0 with three first round finishes (TKO, TKO, arm-triangle choke), and he’s now back in the big show.
Continue reading to see how this featherweight affair went down:
Official Result: Youssef Zalal def. Billy Quarantillo via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:50 of round two
Zalal got to work with his leg kicks in the early goings of the bout, landing a step in knee to the body about two minutes in. Zalal then got off a good punch combination, soon after followed by a knee up the middle that slightly wobbled Quarantillo.
Zalal foot swept Quarantillo down to the mat, where he reigned down heavy shots from top position, before eventually taking his back and searching for a rear naked choke.
Zalal secured another beautiful foot sweep 30 seconds into the second and soon after once again took the back of Quarantillo. He proceeded to go back to the rear naked choke, finishing the fight and becoming the first man to ever submit a really talented grappler in Billy Quarantillo.
Click here to view second foot sweep.
Click here to view finish.
Youssef Zalal at 27 years old is a dangerous featherweight, picking up his first octagon finish tonight at UFC Vegas 89.
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