EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – UFC event headliner. That’s a label Youssef Zalal wants to have by the end of 2025. The rising UFC featherweight prospect has had a stellar return to the promotion. Zalal (16-5-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) returned earlier this year after being cut in 2022 and has picked up three consecutive submission wins in the octagon, including Saturday at UFC Fight Night 246 . Zalal was not only confident he was going to put away Jack Shore (17-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC), but that he was also going to kill it in his return to the UFC. “This is what I expected,” Zalal told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 246 post-fight press conference.