UFC Vegas 81, Random Land!

After a massive upset last week where Bobby Green knocked out Grant Dawson in 33 seconds (watch highlights), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) stays in Las Vegas, Nevada, at its Apex facility for UFC Vegas 81. In the main event, No. 11-ranked Featherweight, Sodiq Yusuff, takes on UFC legend, No. 13-seeded Edson Barboza in what should be a striking delight.

While UFC Vegas 81 isn’t the strongest card by any means, there are a few entertaining fights and a few rookies making their debuts. So, before it goes down on ESPN+, let’s check out some random storylines, tidbits and statistics ahead of showtime …

‘Super’ Sodiq Gets His Shot

Yusuff has flown relatively under the radar for most of his UFC career, even though he is currently ranked in the Top 15. He is 6-1 in the promotion, only losing to top contender Arnold Allen via unanimous decision. The fact of the matter is he can’t stay healthy and only fighting once or twice a year for nearly six years. “Super” is coming off another year of layoff going into his fight first main event fight against Barboza.

Yusuff might break through the stacked Featherweight division with a win over Barboza.

Main Event Woes

Barboza is currently winless (0-3) in UFC main events. He lost his main event in 2018 against Kevin Lee, and a year later, he was knocked out by Justin Gaethje in his second main event (watch highlights). In his most recent main event, he was stopped by Giga Chikadze in the third round (watch highlights).

While Barboza is on the tail end of his legendary career, he still is dangerous. The Brazilian knocked out Billy Quarantillo in Kansas City earlier this year (April 2023).

Will Barboza get his first main event win?

Ranked Flyweights

The co-main event sees two Top 15-ranked women’s Flyweights clash: Jennifer Maia (No. 9) vs. Vivane Araujo (No. 11). There isn’t much to break down in this fight because there aren’t any stakes other than this being an ultimate gatekeeper matchup. If a fighter beats Maia, then they are for real and a legit contender.

Maia is coming off a win over Casey O’Neill, while Araujo is on the first two-fight skid of her career.

People’s Main Event/Banger Of The Week

Although the main event between Yusuff and Barboza is a banger, there is no doubt the most entertaining fight on the card is the “featured bout” between Jonathan Martinez and Adrian Yañez – and has been hailed the ‘people’s main event’ as well as this week’s Banger of the Week.

Both men are ultra-violent and very fun to watch. Martinez, ranked 13 in the Bantamweight division, is riding a five-fight win streak with wins over Said Nurmagomedov and Cub Swanson. Yañez, ranked 14, is coming off his first UFC loss against Rob Font (watch highlights).

This is a fight where you can sit back and enjoy with a big smile.

Factory X Going To War

Speaking of Martinez, his main training partner and good friend Chris Martinez is fighting on the same card against Alateng Heili … in the second fight of the night, which is just odd. Martinez and Gutierrez fight out of acclaimed gym Factory X, located in Englewood, Colorado. Both guys are wizards when it comes to calf kicks and do extreme damage with them.

Middleweight Michel

After missing weight at UFC 291, Michel Pereira has chosen to finally move to Middleweight, where he probably should have been all along because the Brazilian is massive. Pereira revealed to MMAMania.com that he would cut 45 lbs to get down to Welterweight, which now makes sense why he struggled to make weight.

Time will tell if the move to Middleweight will affect his speed and unpredictability.

He faces Andre Petroski, who…

Short-Notice Shake Up

Petroski has stepped on less than a week’s notice to fight Pereira. Petroski got the call while he was in Thailand on vacation while training for the ADCC trials and didn’t even hesitate.

The 32-year-old is undefeated inside UFC and is riding a five-fight win streak, with his most recent win coming against Gerald Meerschaert.

Running It Back

Edgar Chairez and Daniel Lacerda will run it back after their first fight ended controversially at Noche UFC. Chairez caught Lacerda in a standing guillotine, and after a few seconds, with Lacerda’s arm appearing to go limp, the fight was called off; however, Lacerda was not unconscious.

Both Flyweights are looking for their first UFC win, and Lacerda is trying not to be the first fighter to go 0-5 in the promotion.

Welcome To UFC!

Three fighters are making their UFC debuts at UFC Vegas 81:

• Melissa Dixon (5-0) takes on Irina Alekseeva. The English fighter holds a 73 percent finish and is coming off a first round technical knockout win.
• New England Cartel’s Brendon Marotte (8-1) fights Terrance McKinney on one week’s notice. He holds a 76 percent finish rate.
• Ravena Oliveira (7-1-1) faces Tainara Lisboa and holds a 100 percent finish rate with six knockouts.

Welcome Back, Ashley Yoder

Ashley Yoder returns to action after a 26-month layoff against Emily Ducote. Yoder has been out due to shoulder injuries and is looking to rebound. The 35-year-old Strawweight has fallen on hard times, losing four out of the last five, and could be fighting for her UFC career.

From Sold Out Arenas … To … UFC Apex

In Cameron Saaiman’s first three UFC fights, he has been showcased in front of sold-out crowds in the T-Mobile arena; however, this weekend, he is going back to the building where he won his UFC contract on Contender Series … UFC Apex. He faces Christian Rodriguez in the main card opener. The pair of Bantamweights were supposed to face off at UFC 290, but Rodriguez had to pull out due to injury.

Winners And Losers

Fifteen fighters are coming off wins, while seven are coming off losses. Two are coming off a “No Contest” (Chairez and Lacerda).

Multi-Divisions

Here are the divisions that will be on display this Saturday:

• One Middleweight fight
• One Lightweight fight
• Two Featherweight fights
• Three Bantamweight fights
• Two women’s Bantamweight fights
• One women’s Flyweight fight
• One women’s Strawweight fight

Beta Dog

According to DraftKings, the “biggest” underdog at UFC Vegas 81 is Marotte at +400.

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 81 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+) at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 81: “Yusuff vs. Barboza” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.