Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
A very good featherweight matchup is on tap for the UFC’s first show of 2020.
One of the UFC’s more intriguing prospects has a very compelling fight lined up for January.
MMA Junkie reported earlier in the week that Sodiq Yusuff is slated to face Andre Fili on the January 18th show that is tentatively set for Las Vegas. If Conor McGregor returns to headline the event, it’ll be UFC 246, otherwise presumably it will be a pay-per-view.
Yusuff (10-1) was signed off of Dana White’s Contender Series after winning a unanimous decision over Mike Davis. The native of Nigeria has gone 3-0 in his brief but promising UFC run, including a first-round TKO of Gabriel Benitez at UFC 241 this past August. He’s also bested Sheymon Moraes and Soman Mokhtarian as part of his overall five-fight winning streak.
Fili (20-6) has quietly won four of his last five bouts, including an impressive first-round KO of Sheymon Moraes at UFC Sacramento in July. He also got the unanimous decision over Myles Jury at UFC Phoenix in February. A win against Yusuff would give Fili the longest winning streak of his UFC career, which has had its fair share of ups and downs.
Other matchups on tap for the January 18th card include Drew Dober vs. Nasrat Haqparast, Maycee Barber vs. Roxanne Modafferi, and Anthony Pettis vs. Diego Ferreira.