Youssef Zalal will likely get a UFC ranking next to his name very soon. In one of the biggest fights of his career, he defeated perennial contender Calvin Kattar by a unanimous decision in the UFC Fight Night 251 co-main event. Zalal patiently picked apart Kattar with a swift and methodical fight style. With the win, the 28-year-old continues his incessant climb up the featherweight ladder of UFC.

‘The Moroccan Devil’  is keen to make the most of his recent rise in career and take control of his narrative. He challenged two fighters for his next scrabble in the post-fight interview. “Hey, I heard that Brian Ortega’s trying to go away to 155lbs, I’ll give him one more round in the 145lb division and I’ll show him what’s up… I’m excited, I don’t care who they give me [next]; I’ll be ready.”

It’s not just the next fight, he also talked about his title contention plans with Ariel Helwani. He aspires to follow the route that Dustin Poirier took and said, “ So hey man If I need to go with the Dustin Poirier and the [Belal Muhammad] route, it is what it is. If I need to go in a [Diego Lopes] route, it is what it is as well. I’m just here and I’m excited to keep growing and showing out.”

He said that he wanted to be in the top 5 and he has tasted adversity so he does not seem to be scared of the journey to the top. He was axed by UFC in 2022 but luckily Zalal got a second chance that very few get. He made sure to make the most of this second chance in the promotion with 4 consecutive wins in the Octagon with finishes over Jack Shore and Billy Quarantillo. However, he is so unhinged from the high of winning, right now that he claimed Kattar cheated in their fight.

Did Calvin Kattar cheat?

Zalal’s energy in the post-fight presser for UFC Vegas 102 was palpable. Simmering from the recent win he was ready to unleash his tirade on the reporters. After earning 4 submission wins, he pressed Kattar with his grappling skills but the latter repeatedly survived the near-submission traps.

After being unsuccessful to choke Kattar, Zalal accused the featherweight star of using Vaseline to make himself slippery to get out of the chokeholds. “This is the crazy part – we worked a lot of grappling, and I s— you not, I felt like there’s Vaseline all over his legs. I swear to God,” Zalal said of Kattar. “He was the most slippery guy I’ve ever seen in my life. I don’t want to be that guy…but man, that was suspicious…”

He donned his detective hat and deduced that Kattar had cheated. He said that none of his other opponents slid free so fast from a submission attempt. As of now, Kattar has not responded to these allegations. As AI predicted, Zalal won the fight even when Kattar made it ugly. After 2 rounds of huge point fighting, Zalal weaseled through an aggressive advance from Kattar. After the final bell tolled, it was a clear 29-28 scorecard across the board and Zalal won. So do you think that Zalal will get a title chance soon?