Youssef Zalal Making Change to Training Camp Ahead of Next Fight

Youssef Zalal (18-6-1 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) celebrated an important milestone on Friday, his 30th birthday. While he hasn't fought in the UFC since April, he's kept himself busy in the interim. Last weekend, Zalal grappled Zabit Magomedsharipov in ACBJJ 22 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The grappling match vs. Magomedsharipov ended the same way that his UFC fight against Aljamain Sterling (26-5 MMA, 18-5 UFC) did, a loss by way of decision. The Aug. 30 defeat was his second straight setback across the combative disciplines.

Just days removed from ACBJJ 22 in Istanbul, Youssef Zalal trekked to France, where the UFC is stationed for Saturday afternoon's UFC Paris, a card on which his colleague Fares Ziam is competing.

Youssef Zalal Talks About Meeting Fares Ziam

While in Paris, Zalal sat down with Farah Hanoun of USA Today's MMA Junkie for an interview. During the conversation, Youssef Zalal discussed how he and Fares Ziam first connected and working under the direction of Trevor Wittman.

"It was kind of cool," Youssef Zalal began. "I came back from my fight and I came back from a vacation. I was like 'Let me go train a little bit at Onyx with Trevor Wittman and all those guys,' and I know they were like, 'We might have a fight, blah, blah, blah'".

Youssef Zalal wanted to stay prepared in the aftermath of his departure from his former gym, Factory X Muay Thai. After Zalal and Ziam worked together, the latter was booked for the UFC Paris co-main event versus Axel Sola this weekend.

Youssef Zalal on Leaving Factory X Muay Thai

From the earliest days of his professional life in MMA, Youssef Zalal was a member of Factory X Muay Thai and was cornered by Marc Montoya. Whenever his next appearance in MMA happens to be, Montoya won't be his coach.

The interview with Farah Hanoun moved onto the topic of Zalal splitting company with Factory X. It doesn't appear that there were any hard feelings between Zalal and his now-former gym.

"Marc Montoya has been nothing but like a father figure, and obviously a mentor for all that stuff for all of my life, to be honest," he said. "He's been with me my whole professional career."

Youssef Zalal Targeting Full-Time Switch to Trevor Wittman, Onyx Jiu-Jitsu

In addition, Zalal mentions that the April 25 result vs. Sterling played no role in his decision to leave Factory X Muay Thai.

"As a kid, I've grown in the program," he continued. "Where I'm at in my level, I need, still, growth, the micro-growth. That's where we kind of made the decision to do that."

After first touching base with Fares Ziam and Trevor Wittman at Onyx Jiu-Jitsu earlier this year, Youssef Zalal addressed the possibility of becoming a permanent member of the gym in advance of his next MMA fight.

"Trevor is the guy I'm talking to right now," he said.