Aljamain Sterling abandoned the bantamweight division after losing to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 back in summer 2023, a second-round defeat that snapped a nine-fight win streak. Most fighters don’t switch weight classes after just one loss, particularly when they have performed as well as “Funk Master,” but he was already struggling to hit the bantamweight limit and had plans to move up anyway. In three fights at 145 pounds, Sterling is 2-1 with a defeat to Movsar Evloev sandwiched between victories over Calvin Kattar and Brian Ortega. I’m not going crazy over the loss to Evloev because the 32 year-old Russian is undefeated at 20-0, having already bested the likes of Diego Lopes and Lerone Murphy, among others. There’s not a lot to dissect when it comes to Sterling, as the two-time NCAA Division III All-American relies heavily on his wrestling, offensively as well as defensively. In fact, Sterling has 17 takedowns in just three fights at 145 pounds. The downside is that he doesn’t produce exciting fights and has just one post-fight performance bonus in 22 fights under the UFC banner.

Youssef Zalal first signed with UFC back in early 2020, making the most of the opportunity and racking up four straight fights within a span of eight months. Unfortunately, he suffered a three-fight losing streak followed by a draw and the promotion sent him back to the regional circuit for fine tuning. Undaunted, the “Moroccan Devil” scored three straight wins with three consecutive finishes and got called back to UFC, where he now stands at 5-0 dating back to March 2024, with four of those victories coming by way of submission. Zalal is fighting in his athletic prime at 29 years old and continues to look better in each fight, though his two biggest wins — Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett — came against two aging, shopworn featherweights on the downside of their respective careers. He’s also never faced a wrestler with the credentials or experience of Sterling and with a takedown defense of just 59 percent, this could prove to be a long night for the two-time bonus winner. In that respect, the outcome of this fight could depend on what version of “Funk Master” we get in “Sin City.”

Fans love to shit on Sterling for some reason but he’s proven himself in two different weight classes and still performs at an elite level. He’s getting older but unlike some of his peers, he hasn’t taken much damage over the years or suffered a string of knockouts like Dominick Reyes. Until I see him lose a step, there’s really no reason to suggest we won’t see the same combatant who won 11 of his last 13 fights. It’s just a matter of maintaining the conditioning required to outlast a younger, fresher fight across five rounds of grueling action. Norma Dumont has been with the promotion for over six years but did not jump out to the best start, getting annihilated by Megan Anderson in her UFC debut. Dumont would quickly find her footing and go on to win nine of her next 10 and “The Immortal” is currently riding a six-fight winning streak. If there’s a knock on the 35 year-old Brazilian it’s that she’s never finished a single fight inside the Octagon and just has two finishes in her entire career, which both came by way of submission on the local circuit. A former featherweight, Dumont is powerful grappler who can also strike from range, thanks to her background (and multiple titles) in Sanda. Matchmakers don’t like handing out title shots to fighters who can’t finish a fight, but the bantamweight division is in desperate need of contenders, so Dumont is probably one victory away from the promised land.