Youssef Zalal picked up a massive victory Saturday at UFC Vegas 102, but he didn’t win everyone over.
In the evening’s co-main event, Zalal put on a sterling technical performance against Calvin Kattar, outmaneuvering and out-striking the veteran featherweight contender for three rounds en route to a convincing unanimous decision. Zalal appeared to let up on the gas in Round 3, allowing Kattar to come forward and make the final scorecards closer than they probably should have been.
It was the fourth straight UFC win for Zalal, who is undefeated since returning to the promotion in 2024.
Despite Zalal scoring a career-best win, not everyone was enthused with how he finished the fight. Former two-division champion and upcoming UFC Seattle headliner Henry Cejudo poked fun at Zalal’s evasive late game tactics, comparing him to legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
“Welcome back, Usain Bolt,” Cejudo wrote on Twitter.
See more fighter reactions to the co-main event below.
Zalal is improving a lot him and Arnold Allen would be good
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) February 16, 2025
Man!! @CalvinKattar is such a dawg.. Hate to see him go 4 losses in a row!! Wish he would’ve thrown some punches to the body to make up for all that head movement. But take nothing away from Zalal!! That was a great performance. #ufc #ufcfightnight
— Corey ‘Overtime’ Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) February 16, 2025
Youssef Zala has looked phenomenal since his return. Showing the world what we’ve all known for awhile. Congrats my boi#ufc
— Zak Cummings (@ZakCummings) February 16, 2025
