Youssef Zalal wants to test himself with one of the biggest punchers in the UFC’s featherweight division.
LAS VEGAS – Youssef Zalal is getting itchy knuckles, and wants to get back in the cage as soon as possible.
The streaking UFC featherweight contender has yet to book his second fight of 2025, and is already growing a bit restless, given he last fought in February. Speaking with MMA Junkie, Zalal (17-5-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC), who’s on a seven-fight win streak, pitched veteran Josh Emmett to be his dance partner for his return to the octagon.
“I hope the Josh Emmett fight can happen,” Zalal told MMA Junkie Radio ahead of UFC 317.
The Emmett callout is not personal, it’s just what Zalal sees feasible at this point. There’s a lot of moving pieces in the featherweight division, and several booked bouts. Zalal sees Emmett is one of the few top contenders he has a lot to gain from, who’s currently not booked to fight.
“I want to be the best in the world,” Zalal said. “I want to be the world champion and I will be a world champion, so for me, we need that. I feel like the only way to climb up is to fight the top guys. For me, I’m just trying to climb up in the rankings, so hopefully that happens. Everybody else is booked or starting to get booked. They said Arnold Allen might fight Lerone Murphy, that there are talks about. Yair (Rodriguez) might fight or the belt, and you’ve got everybody else fighting, so the only one guy that doesn’t have a fight in the top 10 is Josh Emmett.”
Zalal really hopes to make the Emmett fight happen this year. He’s not too happy with his current level of activity, but understands the politics side to the game.
“I hope so – that’s the goal,” Zalal said when asked about a 2025 return. “It’s more politics. Movsar (Evloev), I think, is the best guy in the division so far that deserves a title shot and hasn’t gotten a title shot, and he’s fighting a guy that’s not even ranked, that’s not even in the UFC. It’s all about politics in this game. You go out there and do something crazy, it gives you attention.”
