UFC books featherweight showcase between Edson Barboza and Sodiq Yusuff

Apr 15, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Edson Barboza (red gloves) reacts after the fight against Billy Quarantillo (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The UFC has finalized an absolute banger in the featherweight division. MMA Junkie was the first to report this afternoon that ranked featherweight contenders Edson Barboza (23-11) and “Super” Sodiq Yusuff (13-2) will battle it out.

The matchup is expected to take place at a UFC Fight Night on October 14th. This is actually the second time that these two have been paired against each other. Originally, they were supposed to face each other in 2020, but Yusuff had to pull out of the fight. Now, he gets his chance to face Barboza.

After earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, Yusuff got off to an unbeaten start inside the octagon. In 2021, he suffered his first loss in the UFC to Arnold Allen. However, he’s bounced back nicely with back-to-back wins. Most recently against Don Shainis back in October.

UFC Fight Night

When Edson Barboza made the walk at UFC Kansas City back in April, he was looking to snap a two-fight losing streak. He was tasked with taking on Billy Quarantillo and many were wondering if the end was near for Barboza. This was his first fight back since having his knee operated on.

Barboza looked better than ever and scored a vicious first round knockout. The win showed that Barboza still has plenty of fight left in the tank and now he’s getting a fight with Yusuff who is currently ranked 11th in the division. If Barboza is able to get the win, he will definitely get a crack at someone inside the top ten next.

Mentioned in this article:

More about: