Switcheroo! Former champ Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal now headlines UFC Vegas 116

Story bySwitcheroo! Former champ Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal now headlines UFC Vegas 116LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Aljamain Sterling enters the Octagon in a featherweight bout during the UFC 310 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)Alexander BehuninThu, March 12, 2026 at 1:02 AM UTC·2 min read

A brand-new main event is headed to “Sin City.”

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight contenders Sean Brady and Joaquin Buckley were originally scheduled to headline UFC Vegas 116 next month (Sat., April 25, 2026). However, plans have changed.

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Former Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will now headline the card against surging contender Youssef Zalal, according to reporter Leo Guimaraes.

As for Brady vs. Buckley, the promotion has not officially revealed whether the fight will remain on the card. However, according to MagicMMA Bets, the Welterweight bout has shifted to UFC 328, which is scheduled to take place in Newark, New Jersey.

Sterling (25-5) will look to make one final run at capturing a title in a second division next month, but he’ll first have to get through a red-hot prospect. “Funkmaster” is coming off a somewhat uneventful unanimous decision win over Brian Ortega at UFC Shanghai.

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Prior to that victory, Sterling dropped a competitive decision to Movsar Evloev after scoring a win over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300, putting him at 2-1 since moving up to Featherweight.

Zalal (18-5-1), meanwhile, has been on an impressive run since returning to the UFC in 2024. “The Moroccan Devil” has won five straight fights, four of them by submission.

While the 29-year-old took some criticism for his dominant but uneventful unanimous decision win over Kattar, he quickly won fans back by stopping Josh Emmett in under two minutes at UFC 320 last year (watch highlights).

UFC Vegas 116 will mark Zalal’s first UFC main event.

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Here is what UFC Vegas 116 looks like now:

Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef ZalalNorma Dumont vs. Joselyne EdwardsEric McConico vs. Rodolfo VieiraRaoni Barcelos vs. Montel JacksonJafel Filho vs. Lucas RochaMayra Bueno Silva vs. Michelle MontagueSedriques Dumas vs. Jackson McVeyDavey Grant vs. Adrian Luna MartinettiAJ Frye vs. Max Gimenis

To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.

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