Aljamain Sterling put on an exhibition in effective and busy grappling on Saturday night. Sterling earned a unanimous-decision victory over Youssef Zalal. All three judges scored the fight 49-45. The scores were appropriate.
Sterling’s sublime back control and grappling ruled this fight. Zalal’s cardio wasn’t there for a five-round fight against a grinder like Sterling. Aljamain took him into deep waters in the fourth round and drowned him.
Sterling simply ran him over the last two rounds. Zalal did great to not get finished from strikes and submissions, but he was out of his depth.
UFC Vegas 116 Full Results
If you like finishes, this event probably didn’t scratch the itch for you. Sterling, Joselyne Edwards, Jackson McVey and Ryan Spann carry the day for action and money performances.
The full main card and prelim results from the Meta APEX in Las Vegas are below:
Main Card
Preliminary Card
Going into the night, the contender stakes were straightforward, and Sterling delivered exactly the kind of statement performance the booking demanded.
What Were The Highlights Of UFC Vegas 116?
Easily, the most memorable moment of the event was Spann’s savage KO of Marcus Buchecha. Take a look at this finish. Unfortunately for finish-hungry MMA fans, this was the only KO of the night.
Sterling’s grappling clinic over five rounds was the technical showcase, with the back takes and clinch rides eventually breaking Zalal down completely by the championship rounds. McVey’s first-round D’Arce on Dumas was the other clean finish, and the Edwards upset of the higher-ranked Dumont was the night’s biggest stylistic surprise.
Who Won The UFC Vegas 116 Bonuses?
Spann was a clear choice for one of the bonuses. With McVey getting the other stoppage on the card, he was the natural choice for the other $100K bonus. The Fight of the Night was a tough choice, but Davey Grant’s decision win over Adrian Luna Martinetti gets the nod.
UFC doubled the standard post-fight bonuses earlier this year, taking each award from $50,000 to $100,000 and adding a separate finish bonus on top. That makes a night like this one — where Spann and McVey were the only finishers — significantly more lucrative than it would have been six months ago.
What Was The Reaction To UFC Vegas 116?
Several fighters took to X to pay respect to Sterling and his dominant performance in the main event.
The Buchecha KO clip went viral within minutes of the broadcast cutting away, and Edwards’ upset of Dumont reshaped the women’s bantamweight contender picture. The biggest forward question is where Sterling fits in the 145-pound title chase, with names like Movsar Evloev and Diego Lopes already ahead of him in line.
