Sodiq Yusuff returns to the octagon this October at UFC Vegas 82, faces Edson Barboza

There’s a very exciting bout that’s just been signed in the featherweight division between no. 11 ranked Sodiq Yusuff (13-2) and no. 14 ranked Edson Barboza (23-11), a bout that will take place at UFC Vegas 82.

UFC Vegas 82 goes down live from the UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada on October 14, 2023.

This will be Sodiq Yusuff’s first appearance of 2023 following a 2-0 run last year that saw him defeat the likes of Alex Caceres (UD) and Don Shainis (guillotine choke). Caceres has gone 7-1 over his last eight, the only defeat coming to Yusuff, and he’s gone 2-0 himself since losing to Yusuff.

Then Yusuff choked Shainis out in a mere 3o seconds; he was originally slated to face no. 9 ranked Giga Chikadze.

Nonetheless, Yusuff will battle the last man Chikadze defeated, but unlike Chikadze, a man coming off a win in fellow former kickboxing champion Edson Barboza.

Barboza has been knocking people out for a long time, going 25-3 in professional kickboxing with 22 knockouts; he has the third-place record for most knockouts in UFC lightweight history at seven, and he has the third most knockdowns in UFC history at 15.

And since moving down to 145 lbs, Barboza has secured two knockouts thus far in three total wins.

Over the course of his legendary career, Barboza has picked up a wide diversity of knockout victories over the likes of Mike Lullo (TKO, leg kicks), Terry Etim (KO, spinning wheel kick), Lucas Martins (TKO, punches), Rafael Oliveira (TKO, leg kicks), Evan Dunham (TKO, body kick), Beneil Dariush (KO, knee), Dan Hooker (KO, body punch), Shane Burgos (KO, punches), and Billy Quarantillo (KO, flying knee) in his most recent outing earlier this year in April.

At 37 years of age Barboza showed us he can still KO solid talents in devastating fashion in that fight.

Yusuff has the youth, coming into this fight at 30 years of age, and he may have the power advantage, himself being no stranger to knockout victories, but Barboza has the potential to be a tall order for anyone he faces.

Who wins this epic featherweight contest going down at UFC Vegas 82?

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Brady Ordway

I became a fan of combat sports when I was 12 years old. I was scrolling through the channels and landed upon Versus, where WEC was televised. Urijah Faber fought Jens Pulver for the second time that night. That's the first fight I ever saw, and I was immediately hooked. So eventually, I began covering the sport in the fourth quarter of 2018, and have since started writing about animals as well. If you'd like to see those pieces, be sure to check out learnaboutnature.com!

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