Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently announced the UFC Vegas 81 main event between Top 15 contenders Edson Barboza and Sodiq Yusuff, a featherweight showdown scheduled for Sat., Oct. 14, 2023 at the APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Oct. 7 card, however, is still without a headlining act.
Barboza (23-11) blasted his way back into the win column by smashing Billy Quarantillo with a first-round flying knee at the UFC Kansas City event last April. The 37 year-old Brazilian, a former lightweight, has been competing in UFC for nearly 13 years.
Yusuff (13-2), seven years younger than Barboza at age 30 (but ranked three spots higher at No. 11), cut his teeth on Dana White’s “Contender Series” back in summer 2018 and has since put together an exceptional 6-1 record with three first-round finishes.
Expect fireworks.
UFC Vegas 81 will also feature the flyweight showdown between Viviane Araujo and Jennifer Maia. Elsewhere on the card, Jonathan Martinez and Adrian Yanez collide at bantamweight while David Dvorak and Tatsuro Taira hook ‘em up at 125 pounds.
Stay tuned for more Oct. 14 fight announcements in the coming days.