Jack Shore and Yousef Zalal, UFC Edmonton Ceremonial Weigh-in Credit: Jay Anderson/Cageside Press
Welsh talent Jack Shore took on ‘The Moroccan Devil’ Youssef Zalal on Saturday as part of the UFC Edmonton preliminary card.
Shore, a former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion, is 1-1 since returning to 145 pounds. As for Zalal, he won his first two fights back in the UFC and had returned for a second stint with the promotion earlier this year. He won against Billy Quarantillo and Jarno Elens.
The match got off to a hot start, with Zalal showing off his kickboxing skills against an aggressive and sharp Jack. Shore managed to wrestle Zalal to the ground and took full advantage of the new ruleset to land a cheeky knee. Zalal went up top and pushed his opponent back into the cage, but was unable to get a takedown. Back in space, Zalal hits a long delayed knee to the middle, which misses slightly and rips to the body. Yousef landed a takedown of his own, and in the fight on the ground, Zalal threatened a guillotine before transitioning to the back. It seemed like there wasn’t much time left. But by the end of the round, Youssef had choked and looked surprisingly close to inside.
The second round started with Yousef landing on his own. Throw a punch from every angle. Jack awkwardly changed levels to get a little closer. Zalal drove his knee up the middle, right on Shore’s chin. Jack crumpled back to the canvas. Zalal jumped to the head and arm triangle and seized the moment. After a few seconds, Shore frantically slapped Zalal on the back, cringing under the pressure of the choke.
“Holy smokers!” Zalal shouted in his post-fight interview as he watched the knee exchange on the big screen. Yusef admired his dexterity and was extremely ecstatic. Zarrar is considering re-entering the UFC due to how good his second stint in the UFC was and the ability to see his previous opponent (UFC Featherweight Champion Ilya Topria) perform well. Looking back, he said it gave him confidence.
Official results: Yousef Zalal def. Jack Shore, submission (arm triangle), 0:59, round 2
