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His faith was rewarded when he got a call to step in on short notice to face veteran Billy Quarantillo in March of last year. He accepted and submitted Quarantillo in the second round. Two more submissions – of Jarno Errens and Shore – followed, along with a pair of bonus checks. Now he’s in a co-main event against a top contender. What a whirlwind.
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“Now, in February, I get to fight my fourth fight in the UFC in 11 months,” Zalal said. “I can’t even make that up. I didn’t know I was going to be at this position. I told you guys I want to be a world champion and I will be a world champion, but I didn’t know it was going to happen this way. I didn’t even know I was going to be back to fighting ever again after when I got kicked out of the UFC, to be honest. So it’s definitely a lot of testing and a lot of growth when it happens.”
At 28, Zalal may not even be at his peak yet, but he’s fighting like he is. And as much work as he’s put in and as confident as he’s always been, he admits that the last year has surprised him a bit.
“I think the biggest thing is I surprised myself,” he said. “I really do believe that. I feel like all the belief I had in the first run as a kid, I still have that now, I think I just surprised myself and the skills that I bring. I knew I was good, but I was like, ’oh wow, you are really good.”
