Ever since his first UFC run ended in unceremonious disappointment, Youssef Zalal has been on a tear.

In 2022, Zalal tried to snap a three-fight skid – including a loss to current lightweight champion and former featherweight champ Ilia Topuria – against short-notice replacement Da'Mon Blackshear, but settled for a draw. And that sent him packing to the regional scene.

He returned to the UFC in 2024 on a three-fight streak of finishes and started finishing the bigger names there, too. And this past October, against arguably his biggest opponent yet in his return, he styled on Josh Emmett for not only the quickest finish of his UFC tenure, but the quickest in his entire career.

Ahead of Zalal's return Saturday, when he goes after his ninth straight win and sixth straight in the UFC, check out his 98-second armbar finish of Josh Emmett above.

At UFC Fight Night 274 on Saturday at Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Zalal (18-5-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) will go a step above Emmett when he takes on former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (25-5 MMA, 17-5 UFC) in the first main event of his run in the promotion.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Vegas 116 full fight: Zalal's fastest finish