UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal
Mixed martial arts event in 2026
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal (also known as UFC Fight Night 274 and UFC Vegas 116) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 25, 2026, at the Meta Apex in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States.[2]
| UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | April 25, 2026 | |||
| Venue | Meta Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | Not announced[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
A welterweight bout between Sean Brady and Joaquin Buckley was originally scheduled to serve as the main event, but the pairing was re-scheduled to UFC 328 two weeks later.[2][3][4] The promotion then booked a featherweight bout between former UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling and Youssef Zalal as the event's new headliner.[5]
A women's bantamweight bout between former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion and UFC Women's Featherweight Championship challenger Yana Santos and Norma Dumont was scheduled to take place at the event.[6] Santos and Dumont had previously been scheduled to meet in January 2024 at UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2, but the bout was scrapped after Santos withdrew due to a broken nose.[7][8] In turn, Santos withdrew again (this time due to undisclosed reasons) and was replaced by Joselyne Edwards.[3]
A heavyweight bout between Max Gimenis and Allen Frye was scheduled for the event.[9] However, Frye withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Marcus Buchecha.[10] In turn, Gimenis withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by former LFA Light Heavyweight Champion Ryan Spann.[11]
A flyweight bout between Lucas Rocha and Jafel Filho was scheduled for the event.[12] However, Rocha withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Cody Durden on six days' notice in a bantamweight bout.[13]
Results
| Main card (Paramount+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Aljamain Sterling | def. | Youssef Zalal | Decision (unanimous) (49–45, 49–45, 49–45) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Joselyne Edwards | def. | Norma Dumont | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Rafa García | def. | Alexander Hernandez | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Davey Grant | def. | Adrián Luna Martinetti | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Raoni Barcelos | def. | Montel Jackson | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Ryan Spann | def. | Marcus Buchecha | KO (punches) | 2 | 2:10 | |
| Preliminary card (Paramount+) | |||||||
| Middleweight | Eric McConico | def. | Rodolfo Vieira | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Jackson McVey | def. | Sedriques Dumas | Submission (brabo choke) | 1 | 2:14 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Michelle Montague | def. | Mayra Bueno Silva | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Cody Durden | def. | Jafel Filho | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Francis Marshall | def. | Lucas Brennan | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Victor Valenzuela | def. | Max Griffin | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Talita Alencar | def. | Julia Polastri | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $100,000 bonuses.[15]
- Fight of the Night: Davey Grant vs. Adrián Luna Martinetti
- Performance of the Night: Ryan Spann and Jackson McVey
Aftermath
This event ties UFC 263 for the most decision bouts in a single UFC event with 11.[1]
