LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 25: (LR) Youssef Jalal of Morocco punches Aljamen Sterling in a featherweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on April 25, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Zuffa LLC
Aljamen Sterling put on an exhibition with an efficient and busy race on a Saturday night. Sterling earned a unanimous decision victory over Youssef Jalal. All three judges scored the fight 49-45. The scores were appropriate.
Sterling’s great back control and grappling ruled this match. Zalal’s cardio wasn’t there for a five-round fight against a grinder like Sterling. Aljamain took him in deep water in the fourth round and choked him out.
Sterling simply ran him over the last two laps. Jalal did great to not be finished by strikes and submissions, but he was out of his depth.
UFC Vegas 116 Full Results
If you like finishes, this event probably didn’t bore you. Sterling, Jocelyn Edwards, Jackson McVeigh and Ryan Spahn carry the day for action and money performances.
The full main card and preliminary results from the Meta APEX in Las Vegas is below:
Main card
Preliminary card
Kicking off the night, the contender’s stakes were clear and Sterling gave exactly the kind of statement performance the booking called for.
What were the highlights of UFC Vegas 116?
Easily the most memorable moment of the event was Span’s wild KO of Markus Bucheja. Check out this finish. Unfortunately for die-hard MMA fans, that was the only KO of the night.
Sterling’s five-round grappling clinic was the technical showcase, with back and clinch rides eventually dismantling Zalal completely in the championship rounds. McVey’s first-round D’Arce on Dumas was the other clean finish, and Edwards’ upset of the taller Dumont was the biggest stylistic surprise of the night.
Who won the UFC Vegas 116 bonuses?
Spann was an obvious choice for one of the bonuses. With McVey getting the other stop on the card, he was the natural choice for the other $100K bonus. Fight of the Night was a tough choice, but Davey Grant’s decision to beat Adrian Luna Martinetti gets the nod.
The UFC doubled the standard post-fight bonuses earlier this year, taking each prize from $50,000 to $100,000 and adding a separate finish bonus on top. That makes a night like this — where Spann and McVey were the only finishers — significantly more lucrative than it would have been six months ago.
What was the reaction to UFC Vegas 116?
Several fighters went to X to honor Sterling and his dominant performance in the main event.
The Buchecha KO clip went viral within minutes of going off the air, and Edwards’ upset of Dumont reshaped the image of the women’s bantamweight contender. The biggest question moving forward is where Sterling fits into the 145-pound title chase, with the likes of Movsar Evloev and Diego Lopes already ahead of him in the lineup.
