Sodiq Yusuff, Edson Barboza Expected to Collide at UFC Fight Night Card on Oct. 14

An all-action Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight rumble is coming to the cage in mid-October.

MMAJunkie first broke the news on Thursday that Sodiq Yusuff (13-2) and Edson Barboza (23-11) were planning on throwing down at the untitled UFC Fight Night event on Oct. 14. The fight card is expected to be held inside of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and there is no headliner or much of its billing announced as of yet. This featherweight matchup has since been confirmed by Yusuff on Twitter shortly after its announcement.

This will be Yusuff’s first appearance in 2023, after a successful 2022 campaign that saw him pick up a decision win over Alex Caceres and then tap out Don Shainis in 30 seconds almost seven months later. After seven outings in the Octagon thus far, Yusuff has lost just one time, taking top contender Arnold Allen to the scorecards and coming up short. On his way up the 145-pound ladder, he beat the likes of Andre Fili, Gabriel Benitez and Sheymon Moraes.

At 37 years of age, the book is still not fully written about human highlight reel Barboza. In a rough spot back in 2020, having lost his last three – albeit the last two were razor-close split decisions – Barboza went out to handle Makwan Amirkhani and then short-circuited Shane Burgos a few months later. When Giga Chikadze busted him up and Bryce Mitchell outgrappled him, some expected the best days were firmly behind Barboza. In April, however, Barboza turned in a vintage performance by lamping Billy Quarantillo with a knee in the first round, and positioned himself one behind UFC leader Donald Cerrone for the most knockouts with strikes from his legs (six).

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