Youssef Zalal wants to keep making the most of big opportunities after UFC on ESPN+ 32

LAS VEGAS – Youssef Zalal beat Peter Barrett with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC on ESPN+ 32 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Zalal, who moved to 3-0 with three decision wins in the UFC since signing earlier this year.

Result: Youssef Zalal def. Peter Barrett via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Updated records: Zalal (10-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC), Barrett (11-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Key stat: Zalal more than doubled up on Barrett in the striking department, 85-41, and had nearly six and a half minutes of control time on the canvas.

Zalal on the fight’s key moment

“I feel good! I had a lot of things to prove to myself from that last fight, so I came in today – I don’t know if you guys saw me in the corner just talking to the coaches. I really didn’t listen in the last fight. It kind of messed me up. I’m young. I just learn every day and every fight. So I did a lot better than the last fight. I’m happy with that. I wish I got a finish. I’m so mad that I didn’t get a finish, but you move on to move on.”

Zalal on making the most of his opportunities

“This is my second fight in six weeks. It just shows the hard work that we did for the past, I don’t know how many years. I’ve got an amazing team, amazing people around me. I’m blessed and grateful for the opportunities. These opportunities don’t come around that often, so when you have the chance, you take them.”

Zalal on what he wants next

“Before 2020, we sat down with the coaches and decided it was really time to go and grow, really just push it, and see where life takes us. We never knew we would have three fights in 2020. We just went with the flow and really focused on getting better as a mixed martial artist – as a person in general. So for me, that was the main focus and fights came to me. I didn’t really have to rush for fights. Fights came in and I took them. I took the opportunities, and thank God – I’m grateful and blessed that I’m doing great.”

To hear more from Zalal, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.