UFC 300 continues to stack up and this morning we learned of another absolute banger that has been added to the card. First reported last night by the Instagram account Freak MMA, 12th ranked featherweight Sodiq Yusff (13-3) will be taking on one of the breakout stars from 2023 in Diego Lopes (23-6).
Let’s start with Sodiq Yusuff. Yusuff last fought in a Fight Night headliner against Edson Barboza in October. In that fight, Yusuff completely dominated the first round and appeared to be close to a finish a number of times. It was a 10-8 round across the board, but Yusuff couldn’t finish the job.
After not getting the finish, Yusuff faded and Barboza turned it on over the next four rounds and won a come from behind decision. That loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for Yusuff after he had suffered his first loss in the promotion to Arnold Allen back in 2021.
Yusuff is still one of the toughest guys at 145 and is 6-2 overall inside the octagon. Now, he’ll take on arguably the hottest contender at 145 at the historic UFC 300.
UFC 300
There are huge names getting added to this card in April, but Diego Lopes just might be the most exciting addition to the card for the hard core fans. Lopes was first introduced to UFC fans via the Contender Series back in 2021. Lopes lost his fight to Joanderson Brito by technical decision after he couldn’t continue due to an eye poke in the third round.
That loss snapped a seven-fight win streak. He then suffered a split decision loss in Fury FC. However, after back-to-back stoppage wins, he got the call of a lifetime. Movsar Evloev’s opponent fell out at the last minute at UFC 288 last May. On just a few days’ notice, Lopes jumped at the opportunity to fight Evloev.
Lopes rocked Evloev on the feet and nearly finished him with submissions several times. Evloev won a close decision in the end, but Lopes earned himself a contract with the promotion. After getting a contract, he fought twice and finished both Gavin Tucker and Pat Sabatini in the first round. He’s one of the UFC’s rising contenders and now he gets a shot to jump into the rankings at this historic event.