Edson Barboza Survives Early Scare to Dominate Sodiq Yusuff at UFC Fight Night 230

Edson Barboza has electrified Ultimate Fighting Championship fans for over 14 years and shows no sign of slowing down after pulling off one of the biggest comebacks of the year in the in the UFC Fight Night 230 main event Saturday at the UFC Apex.

Barboza was done. Or so we thought. Sodiq Yusuff was putting a beating on the Brazilian legend in the first round of their featherweight clash and referee Herb Dean could’ve stepped in at any time.

Dean however continued to let Barboza compete and fight fans around the world are thankful as Barboza recollected himself and put on a masterful performance over the next four rounds to snatch away the unanimous decision victory (48-46, 49-46, 48-46).

Yusuff couldn’t believe his eyes. After bulldozing Barboza in the first, Barboza responded with his textbook body attack in the second before dropping Yusuff with his trademark spinning wheel kick in the third.

At this point Barboza had all the momentum as Yusuff desperately looked for the energy to hold him off. Both men left it all in the cage, but Barboza’s swing in momentum was too much to contain.

With the win, Barboza picks up his second victory in a row and breaks the UFC record for Fight of the Night bonuses (9). Barboza was previously tied with fellow UFC greats Nate Diaz, Dustin Poirier and Frankie Edgar.

Viviane Araujo should receive a warm welcome back to the Top 10 of the UFC’s women’s flyweight rankings after notching a unanimous decision win over No. 9 Jennifer Maia (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Araujo banked the first two rounds after beating Maia to the punch numerous times in the first round and putting her fellow Brazilian countrywoman on her back in the second. Araujo had Maia in danger after securing a crucifix, but Maia managed to escape.

In danger of losing her two-fight win streak, Maia upped the pace in the third round and caught Araujo with hard right hands as she backed up into the cage. Maia looked for a leg lock and was inspired to fish for a finish but Araujo’s defense was too sturdy. Despite Maia’s late fight surge, Araujo’s dominance over the first 10 minutes was enough to get the nod.

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This year hasn’t been kind to Adrian Yanez. Coming into 2023 with a 9-fight win streak, Yanez has gone cold in his last two bouts against other deadly strikers.

Yanez hoped to bounce back from his first-round knockout loss to Rob Font last April with a win over Jonathan Martinez, but Martinez’s gameplan was perfect from the ground up.

Fighting from a southpaw stance, Martinez demoralized Yanez with inside leg kicks to the lead leg. Martinez once stopped Cub Swanson with leg kicks and he realized early that he could do the same to Yanez. With every kick Yanez’s base grew weaker before finally giving out completely at 2:26 of the second round.

Michel Pereira used to cut 47 pounds to make the welterweight limit of 170 pounds, but those days are over for the Brazilian boogeyman.

Pereira broke into the middleweight division in electrifying fashion after stopping Andre Petroski in the first round (1:06).

After circling the cage, Pereira drew Petroski into a flush right hand before reigning down the finishing blows. The loss marked Petroski’s first since 2020.

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Christian Rodriguez didn’t make any friends with UFC matchmakers after missing weight for the second fight in a row but that may not matter after his performance Saturday.

Rodriquez picked up his third straight impressive win over young upstart Cameron Saaiman (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in the opening bout of the main card.

Saaiman and Rodriquez were brilliantly matched and their skill sets made for a fun fight. Saaiman’s speed and work rate led to much success for the South African but Rodriquez’s slick counters in between punches were eye-opening. On the ground, the fight was just as even as both men spent time in dominant positions, while frantically scrambling out of submission attempts.

Ultimately it was Rodriquez’s poise and precision that outshined Saaiman’s work rate.

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