COMEBACK!!! Edson Barboza goes to war with Sodiq Yusuff, comes out victorious

COMEBACK!!! Edson Barboza goes to war with Sodiq Yusuff, comes out victorious

Timothy James
Timothy James
October 14, 2023

Edson Barboza Defeats Sodiq Yusuff Via Unanimous Decision at UFC Vegas 81

37 years young and Edson Barboza is still beating top contenders in the UFC.

Edson Barboza pounded Sodiq Yusuff with body shots – and nearly knocked him out with his signature spinning wheel kick – en route to a unanimous decision in the main event of UFC Vegas 81. It was a vintage performance for the legendary Brazilian – making the adjustments after a rough first round.

Things looked bleak for Barboza in the early going. Yusuff had him hurt often – with the fight looking like it was on the verge of being stopped multiple times. However, Barboza found a way to survive – capitalizing on Yusuff slowing down in the later rounds.

The difference in the fight was the body shots. Barboza continually found a home for left hooks to the liver and some round kicks, spinning back kicks, and uppercuts. However, his biggest moment of the fight came in round 3 – when he nearly knocked Yusuff out with a spinning wheel kick.

The spinning wheel kick and Edson Barboza are an iconic duo in the UFC history books. It’s a moment MMA fans have seen many times before. Barboza famously scored the first spinning wheel kick KO in UFC history against Terry Etim at UFC 142 in 2012. He also landed the move on Kevin Lee – resulting in a meme-worthy chicken dance. The only man to have taken that shot and survived was Khabib Nurmagomedov, who shrugged off Barboza’s signature technique at UFC 219.

There were doubts whether Barboza could stick around at the top of the featherweight division at 37 years old. With tonight’s performance, he’s put together back-to-back wins against ranked 145’ers. It was a classic gutsy performance, adding another victory to an already Hall-of-Fame-worthy career.

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Bryan Battle had high praise for the fighters at UFC 311, and says Islam Makhachev’s first round submission win is just “what Islam does”. Lightbox link for post with description Bryan Battle had high praise for the fighters at...

Bryan Battle had high praise for the fighters at UFC 311, and says Islam Makhachev’s first round submission win is just “what Islam does”.

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