{"id":323566,"date":"2026-04-24T00:11:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=323566"},"modified":"2026-04-24T00:11:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:41:37","slug":"aljamain-sterling-vs-youssef-zalal-prediction-odds-pick-for-ufc-vegas-116","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/aljamain-sterling-vs-youssef-zalal-prediction-odds-pick-for-ufc-vegas-116\/","title":{"rendered":"Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal prediction, odds, pick for UFC Vegas 116"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gambling isn’t offered on this website in any form.<\/p>\n

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The UFC Vegas 116 Foremost Event is finally here as we bring you a prediction and pick for this headlining bout within the Featherweight (145) Division. Ranked contenders meet as former champion and No. 5-ranked Aljamain Sterling\u00a0<\/strong>takes on Morocco’s No. 7 Youssef Zalal<\/strong> in what ought to be a memorable matchup. Check our UFC odds series for the Sterling-Zalal prediction and pick.<\/p>\n

Aljamain Sterling (25-5)\u00a0<\/strong>has gone 17-5 contained in the UFC since 2014 en path to holding multiple bantamweight titles. He’s since made the move to featherweight where he’s 2-1 with wins over Calvin Kattar and Brian Ortega, hoping to copy similar success against a rising name within the division. Sterling stands 5-foot-7 with a 71-inch reach.<\/p>\n

Youssef Zalal (18-5-1)\u00a0<\/strong>has gone 8-3-1 contained in the UFC since 2020, beating Josh Emmett via armbar his last day out in a formidable showing. He’s on certainly one of the UFC’s hottest winning streaks at eight fights and will emerge as a brand new featherweight contender if he’s capable of get rid of a former champion in Sterling. Zalal stands 5-foot-10 with a 72-inch reach.<\/p>\n

UFC Vegas 116 Odds, courtesy of DraftKings<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

UFC Vegas 116 Odds: Aljamain Sterling-Youssef Zalal Odds<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Aljamain Sterling: +105<\/p>\n

Youssef Zalal: -125<\/p>\n

Over 4.5 rounds: -180<\/p>\n

Under 4.5 rounds: +140<\/p>\n

Why Aljamain Sterling <\/strong>Will Win<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Last Fight: (W) Brian Ortega \u2013 U DEC<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Last 5: 3-2<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Finishes: 3 KO\/TKO, 8 SUB<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Aljamain Sterling looked like a championship version of himself against Brian Ortega his last day out, dominating the striking totals 153-100 while landing three of six takedowns in the course of the five-round fight. Sterling looked a step ahead all night and this move to featherweight could have come much earlier as he’s quickly finding his area of interest inside this weight class. Sterling was already a physical freak at 135, but this 145-pound weight cut offers him a ton of strength return and energy for an additional five-round battle.<\/p>\n

    Sterling also stays probably the greatest grapplers within the UFC no matter division, so it’ll be interesting to see how Zalal stacks up against probably the greatest in his first fight against a former champ. Zalal has yet to be pushed in a five-round fight, so Sterling can definitely see a bonus late if he’s the more energizing side pushing the next pace within the fourth and fifth rounds.<\/p>\n

    Ultimately, we will expect much of the identical from Sterling in the case of his superior ground game and his constant attack in attempting to take the back. His striking has only improved up thus far and he has experience against the likes of Sean O’Malley and Brian Ortega, so don’t expect him to back down wherever this fight may happen.<\/p>\n

    Why Youssef Zalal <\/strong>Will Win<\/strong><\/h2>\n
      \n
    • Last Fight: (W) Josh Emmett \u2013 SUB (armbar, R1)<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Last 5: 5-0<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Finishes: 4 KO\/TKO, 10 SUB<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Youssef Zalal made quick work of Josh Emmett after neutralizing the knockout artist along with his striking and quickly ending the job with an armbar to seal the deal. With 10 submission wins, Zalal is deceptively fast in the way in which he’s capable of lock in submissions and stifled opponents along with his quick transitions on the bottom. During this fight, he’ll be faced with an equally dominant grappler, but Zalal could have the slightest advantage in speed and reversing positions.<\/p>\n

      On the feet, Zalal can be very clean technically and snaps is punches without draining an excessive amount of energy. He’s able to pushing a high pace in hopes of ending the fight, but it surely’ll be interesting to see how conservative he’s along with his output early knowing this fight can extend into the later rounds.<\/p>\n

      Ultimately, Zalal has timing on his side and if Aljamain Sterling is caught lacking at any point, Zalal will likely find the opening and finish this fight inside the gap. He ought to be patient enough in allowing Sterling to make his own mistakes while allowing the fight to come back to him and limit his own damage.<\/p>\n

      Final Aljamain Sterling-Youssef Zalal <\/strong>Prediction & Pick<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      That is one other close fight stylistically as each Sterling and Zalal are constantly improving their striking with each passing fight. Zalal has seen most of his success behind his grappling, but he’ll be facing certainly one of the UFC’s best when it comes to submission grappling and a former champion in Sterling.<\/p>\n

      While Youssef Zalal ought to be competing atop this division for years to come back, Aljamain Sterling still offers certainly one of the more versatile looks on this division and will definitely test Zalal on the bottom. We’ve got yet to see Sterling really bested within the grappling, so I expect that trend to proceed throughout this fight.<\/p>\n

      For our final prediction, we’ll roll with Aljamain Sterling to win this fight because the talent gap could develop into noticeable on the bottom. While Zalal remains to be an especially worthy opponent, I expect Aljamain Sterling to search out openings within the wrestling as he consistently works his takedowns throughout this fight.<\/p>\n

      Final Aljamain Sterling-Youssef Zalal <\/strong>Prediction & Pick: Aljamain Sterling (+105); OVER 4.5 Rounds (-180)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      The UFC Vegas 116 Foremost Event is finally here as we bring you a prediction and pick for this headlining bout within the Featherweight (145) Division. Ranked contenders meet as former champion and No. 5-ranked Aljamain Sterling takes on Morocco’s No. 7 Youssef Zalal in what ought to be a memorable matchup.<\/p>\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Gambling isn’t offered on this website in any form. The UFC Vegas 116 Foremost Event is finally here as we bring you a prediction and pick for this headlining bout within the Featherweight (145) Division. Ranked contenders meet as former champion and No. 5-ranked Aljamain Sterling\u00a0takes on Morocco’s No. 7 Youssef Zalal in what ought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":323567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21048],"tags":[13560,5711,5909,3595,7564,3928,2070,8271,25143],"class_list":["post-323566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mma","tag-aljamain","tag-odds","tag-pick","tag-prediction","tag-sterling","tag-ufc","tag-vegas","tag-youssef","tag-zalal"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323566"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323569,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323566\/revisions\/323569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}