Sodiq Yusuff meets Edson Barboza in the men’s featherweight main event of UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas. The fights at UFC Apex are on ESPN+, with the 7 p.m. ET main card preceded by prelims at 4 p.m.
Yusuff (13-2) last fought just over a year ago, submitting Don Shainis for his second straight win and eighth in his last nine fights.
Barboza (23-11) is coming off a first-round KO of Billy Quarantillo in April, which broke a two-fight losing streak.
How to watch the fights
Watch the fights on ESPN+: Get ESPN+ here.
There’s also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.
Saturday’s UFC fight card
ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET
Men’s featherweight: Sodiq Yusuff vs. Edson Barboza
Women’s flyweight: Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araujo
Women’s bantamweight: Jonathan Martinez vs. Adrian Yanez
Middleweight: Michel Pereira vs. Andre Petroski
Men’s flyweight: Édgar Cháirez vs. Daniel Lacerda
Men’s bantamweight: Cameron Saaiman vs. Christian Rodriguez
ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET
Men’s featherweight: Darren Elkins vs. TJ Brown
Women’s bantamweight: Tainara Lisboa vs. Ravena Oliveira Morais
Lightweight: Terrance McKinney vs. Brendon Marotte
Women’s bantamweight: Irina Alekseeva vs. Melissa Dixon
Men’s bantamweight: Chris Gutierrez vs. Alatengheili
Strawweight: Ashley Yoder vs. Emily Ducote
Yusuff vs. Barboza by the numbers
30: Seconds it took Yusuff to win by guillotine choke in his most recent fight (Oct. 1, 2022, vs. Don Shainis). It was the second-fastest submission in UFC men’s featherweight history.
1:50: Amount of time, in minutes and seconds, that Yusuff has spent on bottom in the UFC, the fifth-lowest total among active featherweights.He has surrendered only one takedown in seven fights.
0: UFC fights in which Yusuff (-165) has not been favored. He is 6-1 in the Octagon.
4-4: Barboza’s UFC record as a betting underdog — as he will be on Saturday (+140).
15: Knockdowns landed by Barboza in the UFC, fourth most in promotion history.
8: Fight of the Night bonuses for Barboza, tying him for most in UFC history (with Nate Diaz, Frankie Edgar and Dustin Poirier).
Data from UFC Stats & Information research.
Ian Parker’s betting tip
Minus a decision loss to Arnold Allen, Yusuff has been nearly flawless in the UFC. However, Allen is the only fighter he has faced that’s on the level of Barboza. Unless Yusuff can take Barboza down and grind out the win, like Bryce Mitchell did, I think Barboza has a good chance at winning what could be a five-round standup fight. Surprisingly, Barboza is the betting underdog here, which doesn’t make sense to me.
For Parker’s suggested bets on the main event and other fights on Saturday’s card, check out the ESPN+ expert picks and best bets article (link below). It also features analysis by UFC featherweight Dan Ige as well as ESPN’s other betting expert, Reed Kuhn.
Top stories
Expert picks and best bets: Sizing up Yusuff vs. Barboza
Dawson-Green, Yusuff-Barboza top UFC Fight Night cards