Rising UFC featherweight prospects will look to return to the win column this June.
First reported by MMA Junkie, Youssef Zalal and Sean Woodson will fight at a yet-to-be-announced event on June 5. Both fighters had previously revealed they had signed bout agreements. Woodson confirmed the booking Friday.
Zalal (10-4) fought four times in 2020, winning three of those appearances. “The Moroccan Devil” will be looking to get back to his winning ways after suffering back-to-back losses, including his first bout of 2021.
Youssef made his UFC debut last February, where he defeated Austin Lingo via a unanimous decision. Zalal would return in June, defeating Jordan Griffin via unanimous decision, and then turn around two months later and defeat Peter Barrett. The Factory X fighter would taste his first UFC defeat in October on ‘Fight Island’ against Ilia Topuria, which would bring his active 2020 to a close. Most recently, in February, Zalal would lose another unanimous decision to Seung Woo Choi at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov.
Woodson (7-1) was handed his first professional loss when Julian Erosa submitted him in the third round last June at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Hooker, the same night Zalal defeated Griffin. Woodson was scheduled to fight two other times in 2020, but they were both canceled.
With this latest addition to the June 5 fight card, it now looks like this:
- Manon Fiorot vs. Maryna Moroz
- Walt Harris vs. Marcin Tybura
- Sean Woodson vs. Youssef Zalal
- Tanner Boser vs. Ilir Latifi
