COMEBACK!!! Edson Barboza goes to war with Sodiq Yusuff, comes out victorious
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.
Edson Barboza defeats Sodiq Yusuff via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-46, 48-46).
An amazing comeback performance after nearly getting knocked out in the first round. #UFCVegas81 pic.twitter.com/TqgtsH1tVO
— InsideFighting (@InsideFighting_) October 15, 2023
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.
What a performance by @EdsonBarbozaJR 👏
He leaves tonight's #UFCVegas81 main event with the UD victory! pic.twitter.com/EijYIwNeR4
— UFC (@ufc) October 15, 2023
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.
What was your reaction when this happened? #UFCVegas81 pic.twitter.com/K1nLvQKIDi
— InsideFighting (@InsideFighting_) October 15, 2023
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.
MMA Twitter Reacts to Edson Barboza vs. Sodiq Yusuff
@EdsonBarbozaJR deserves that one! #ufcvegas81 always shows up!
— Frankie Edgar (@FrankieEdgar) October 15, 2023
What an incredible fight, Edson is a savage, 37 years young #UFCVegas81
— Thiago Moisés (@ThiagoMoisesMMA) October 15, 2023
What a WARRIOR of a performance by @EdsonBarbozaJR !!#ufcfightnight
— Corey ‘Overtime’ Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) October 15, 2023
37 in the best shape of his career…. Survive that first round and dominates the entire fight and land a takedown in the last round WHAT A LEGEND #UFCVegas81
— Renato Moicano UFC (@moicanoufc) October 15, 2023
Muerte culo there has been more violence in the first minute and a half of the UFC main event than the co-main and main of the YouTube boxing card had in a combined 12 rounds. #UFCVegas81
— MacMally 🍀 (@MacMallyMMA) October 15, 2023
Featherweights showed out in the main event, well done 👏 #UFCVegas81
— Billy Quarantillo (@BillyQMMA) October 15, 2023
This main event is a banger! I love technical scraps like this. I think Barboza is up going into the 5th
•#UFCVegas81— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) October 15, 2023
Great performance by both men 💪🏾👏🏾
— Jalin Turner (@JalinTurner) October 15, 2023
What a war! What a legend Edson Barboza @EdsonBarbozaJR #UFCVegas81 pic.twitter.com/3uOiJY9qfu
— Nina-Marie Daniele (@ninamdrama) October 15, 2023
Shout out to Edson Barboza for digging deep and getting it done tonight. Legend. https://t.co/TahNcMJg1b
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) October 15, 2023
A reminder that Edson Barboza’s quality of opposition has been pretty insane throughout much of his UFC career #UFCVegas81 pic.twitter.com/aLnila1XWJ
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) October 15, 2023
How can you not respect Edson Barboza?
This man has been competing in the UFC for 13 years and he’s still beating the young guns of this sport.
It takes some serious grit to battle back the way he did tonight. pic.twitter.com/y9PhamC5LV
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) October 15, 2023
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