UFC Vegas 81 may have been completely overshadowed by the Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis boxing event on Saturday night, but the ESPN+ card still produced some memorable action from inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
From the Fight of the Night headliner between Edson Barboza and Sodiq Yusuff to Michel Pereira’s incredible knockout finish over Andre Petroski, UFC Vegas 81 created a few intriguing storylines that are worth discussing more in depth. Check out some of those takeaways below and let us know what you took from Saturday’s card in “Sin City.”
Barboza To The Hall
Despite an inability to fight for and win a UFC title, Edson Barboza has turned in one of the most entertaining and memorable careers in UFC history. For that, he needs to be considered a future UFC Hall of Famer when it’s all said and done.
For anyone who may have reservations about Barboza hitting The Hall when he hangs up the gloves let’s dive deeper into the numbers. Not only has Barboza spent the past decade competing against the best fighters in the world — which includes Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Beneil Dariush, Tony Ferguson, Anthony Pettis, Donald Cerrone, Paul Felder, and Dan Hooker — but the Brazilian veteran has been taking most of those athletes to the brink of defeat.
In total, Barboza has been part of nine Fight of the Night performances inside of the Octagon. That is a UFC record and proof that he makes every outing as memorable as the last. The more important statistic is the fact that Barboza has won seven of those contents, meaning he turns in his best effort when the fire is hottest.
Add in 18 total UFC wins along with one of the best highlight-reel packages in the sport and it should be an easy call to send Barboza to the Hall of Fame when he’s ready.
C-Rod: “The Prospect Killer”
We’re not sure if the UFC intended to turn Christian Rodriguez into the “Prospect Killer,” but that’s exactly what the 25-year-old has become. In turn, Rodriguez has padded his own resume and continues to grow his own potential as a young, up-and-coming prospect.
After turning in a 1-1 record to start his UFC career, Rodriguez was matched up against 19-year-old prospect Raul Rosas Jr. back at UFC 287. The hype around Rosas Jr. was absolutely bonkers at that time and most thought the promotion was feeding Rodriguez to the proverbial lion. However, Rodriguez shocked many by outlasting Rosas Jr. over the course of three rounds and handing him his first professional loss.
On Saturday, Rodriguez stepped across the cage from undefeated 22-year-old South African prospect, Cameron Saaiman, who brought a 3-0 UFC record into this weekend. It was another opportunity for Rodriguez to prove his doubters wrong and knock off another top-level prospect and that’s exactly what he did, winning via unanimous decision.
Rodriguez may be fighting fellow bantamweights with limited career experience and missing weight a few times along the way, but the RoufusSport product looks like the real deal heading into 2024.
Pereira Is Even Better At Middleweight
When it was revealed after his UFC Vegas 81 win that he cut nearly 40 pounds to get down to welterweight it was clear why Michel Pereira decided to move up to 185 pounds. And good thing he did because the Brazilian fan favorite put a brutal stop to Andre Petroski via first-round knockout and earned $50K for his main card efforts.
The performance shouldn’t come as a huge shock to fight fans considering Pereira had won five-straight in the welterweight division before his UFC middleweight debut on Saturday night, but “Demolidor” looked more dangerous than ever. Even in just 66 seconds of action Pereira showed that he’ll be faster than his adversaries at the middleweight level and still pack the fight-ending power that he had at the smaller weight class.
It’s the perfect recipe for a guy like Pereira looking to take the next step in his career and make a push towards the top 10 in his respective division. If he can turn in another performance like he did against Petroski there’s no reason to believe UFC won’t rush the contender along and see what he has against some of the best middleweights in the world.
For complete UFC Vegas 81 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.