Preview: UFC Fight Night 174 ‘Lewis vs. Oleynik’ Prelims

Featherweights

Youssef Zalal (9-2) vs. Peter Barrett (11-3)

ODDS: Zalal (-350), Barrett (+290)

Zalal steps in on late notice and looks for his third win of 2020, and “The Moroccan Devil” has already overachieved thus far. Zalal showed some talent prior to his UFC debut, but he looked like a prospect who was years away from making an impact, particularly due to an overconfident approach that figured to get him knocked out. Zalal is still hittable, but he showed a willingness to stay out of danger when needed against Austin Lingo and followed that up with a solid back-and-forth win against Jordan Griffin to show that he can get things done at a UFC level. Barrett probably will not be the guy to test him. His win on Dana White’s Contender Series was not particularly convincing, but White basically admitted that Barrett’s combination of a hard-luck story and his Boston roots meant that he had to give “Slippery Pete” a contract. Moving down from lightweight, Barrett figures to be the stronger fighter, so there is some chance that he can stall this fight out against the fence. However, the pick is Zalal via decision.

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