UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal
| UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | April 25, 2026 | |||
| Venue | Meta Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | Not announced[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal (also known as UFC Fight Night 274 and UFC Vegas 116) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 25, 2026, at the Meta Apex in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States.[2]
Background
[edit]A welterweight bout between Sean Brady and Joaquin Buckley was originally scheduled to serve as the main event, but the pairing was re-scheduled to UFC 328 two weeks later.[2][3][4] The promotion then booked a featherweight bout between former UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain Sterling and Youssef Zalal as the event's new headliner.[5]
A women's bantamweight bout between former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion and UFC Women's Featherweight Championship challenger Yana Santos and Norma Dumont was scheduled to take place at the event.[6] Santos and Dumont had previously been scheduled to meet in January 2024 at UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2, but the bout was scrapped after Santos withdrew due to a broken nose.[7][8] In turn, Santos withdrew again (this time due to undisclosed reasons) and was replaced by Joselyne Edwards.[3]
A heavyweight bout between Max Gimenis and Allen Frye was scheduled for the event.[9] However, Frye withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Marcus Buchecha.[10] In turn, Gimenis withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by former LFA Light Heavyweight Champion Ryan Spann.[11]
A flyweight bout between Lucas Rocha and Jafel Filho was scheduled for the event.[12] However, Rocha withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Cody Durden on six days' notice in a bantamweight bout.[13]
Results
[edit]| Main card (Paramount+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Aljamain Sterling | def. | Youssef Zalal | Decision (unanimous) (49–45, 49–45, 49–45) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Joselyne Edwards | def. | Norma Dumont | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Rafa García | def. | Alexander Hernandez | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Davey Grant | def. | Adrián Luna Martinetti | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Raoni Barcelos | def. | Montel Jackson | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Ryan Spann | def. | Marcus Buchecha | KO (punches) | 2 | 2:10 | |
| Preliminary card (Paramount+) | |||||||
| Middleweight | Eric McConico | def. | Rodolfo Vieira | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Jackson McVey | def. | Sedriques Dumas | Submission (brabo choke) | 1 | 2:14 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Michelle Montague | def. | Mayra Bueno Silva | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Cody Durden | def. | Jafel Filho | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Francis Marshall | def. | Lucas Brennan | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Victor Valenzuela | def. | Max Griffin | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Talita Alencar | def. | Julia Polastri | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Bonus awards
[edit]The following fighters received $100,000 bonuses.[15]
- Fight of the Night: Davey Grant vs. Adrián Luna Martinetti
- Performance of the Night: Ryan Spann and Jackson McVey
Aftermath
[edit]This event ties UFC 263 for the most decision bouts in a single UFC event with 11.[1]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Mike Bohn (2026-04-26). "UFC Fight Night 274 post-event facts: Card ties all-time decision record". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
- ^ a b Nolan King (2026-02-21). "UFC Fight Night 274 gets Sean Brady vs. Joaquin Buckley headliner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-02-21.
- ^ a b Farah Hannoun, Nolan King and Mike Bohn (2026-03-11). "UFC Vegas 115 gets new main event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
- ^ Alexander Behunin (2026-03-12). "Switcheroo! Former champ Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal now headlines UFC Vegas 116". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
- ^ Mike Heck (2026-03-11). "Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal set for UFC Vegas 116". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
- ^ Farah Hannoun (2026-02-16). "Amid frustrations of title picture, Norma Dumont books next UFC fight". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-02-16.
- ^ Nolan King (2023-12-22). "First UFC event of 2024 hit with multiple changes". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ Alexander K. Lee (2023-10-04). "Norma Dumont set for bantamweight fight with Yana Santos on UFC card in 2024". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ Nolan King (2026-03-11). "UFC Vegas 115 adds heavyweight bout". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
- ^ Nolan King (2026-03-29). "BJJ legend Marcus Buchecha books third UFC bout". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ^ Roberto Villa (2026-04-08). "UFC returns to the APEX with featherweight showdowns: Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal and Arnold Allen vs. Melquizael Costa". fightbookmma.com. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ^ David Tees (2025-02-24). "Report: Jafel Filho faces Lucas Rocha on April 25 UFC card". pwinsiderxtra.com. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
- ^ Guilherme Cruz (2026-04-20). "Jafel Filho gets new UFC Vegas 116 opponent on 6 days' notice". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2026-04-20.
- ^ "UFC Fight Night: Sterling vs. Zalal". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2026-02-21.
- ^ Matt Erickson (2026-04-26). "UFC Fight Night 274 bonuses: Major highlights few, far between". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2026-04-26.
