Barboza survives early onslaught, upsets Yusuff in UFC main event
There is tough. And then there is Edson Barboza.
After almost being finished in the first round, Barboza rallied to defeat up-and-coming featherweight Sodiq Yusuff via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-46, 48-46) in the UFC Fight Night main event Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Barboza has been a contender in the UFC for years - both at lightweight and featherweight - and will again move up the ladder after gutting out this impressive win. Barboza was ranked No. 13 at featherweight heading into the bout, while Yusuff was No. 11.
As the fight began, Yusuff looked like he intended to end things early. He marched Barboza down, traded punches, and dropped him with a huge right hand. Yusuff followed up with shots against the fence and wobbled Barboza throughout the lopsided round, nearly forcing referee Herb Dean to step in on multiple occasions. Barboza's face was bloody and swollen by the end of it, but he survived.
"Bro, I really feel it," Barboza said of the early adversity. "I was very dazed. I don't know if I was in the gym, (if) I was in my house playing with my kids. I said, 'What the f--k's going on?' And then, 'Oh, OK, I'm back in the fight.'"
Two judges, Sal D'Amato and Derek Cleary, awarded Yusuff what seemed like a clear 10-8 in the first round. Judge Chris Lee surprisingly gave Yusuff a 10-9.
Barboza bounced back extremely well in Round 2. He put pressure on Yusuff, which allowed him to land much more offense - shots to the body, leg kicks - than in Round 1.
The Brazilian veteran nearly scored a finish of his own in the third stanza, rocking Yusuff with a spinning wheel kick.
"You have to really kill your opponents to win the war. He was still alive," Barboza said when asked if he thought the fight would end when he hurt Yusuff. "I tried to finish - I gave my best to finish the fight - but he's one of the best in the world. He never gave up, like me in the first round."
In the final two frames, Barboza continued to land crisp jabs and body shots to get ahead on the judges' scorecards. Yusuff's pace was much slower than in Round 1, perhaps a sign that Barboza's body shots had taken a toll. Barboza secured a huge takedown late in the fifth to cap off the impressive comeback.
Barboza has now won two in a row and will likely face a top-10 featherweight in his next Octagon appearance. The 37-year-old was coming off a first-round knockout of Billy Quarantillo in April.
Yusuff entered his first UFC main event riding a two-fight winning streak. This was his first outing since October 2022, when he beat Don Shainis by submission. Yusuff suffered just the second defeat of his UFC career against Barboza.