UFC Vegas 81 fight card airs live on ESPN+ from UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, October 14. The main event is a five-round featherweight bout between Sodiq Yusuff and Edson Barboza.
Yusuff (13-2) makes his Octagon return after a year of layoff and is looking for his third straight victory. In his previous outing last October, the 30-year-old of Lagos, Nigeria submitted Don Shainis in the first round. In March 2022, No. 11-ranked featherweight contender scored a unanimous decision against Alex Caceres.
No. 13 Barboza (23-11) last fought in April, when he KO’d Billy Quarantillo in the first round. With the victory, the 37-year-old native of Nova Friburgo, Brazil returned to winning ways after suffering a pair of defeats.
The co-main event is a three-round all-Brazilian women’s flyweight battle between Jennifer Maia and Viviane Araujo. Curitiba’s 35-year-old Maia (21-9-1) is coming off a pair of win by unanimous decision against Casey O’Neill and Maryna Moroz. 36-year-old Araujo (11-5) of Ceilandia eyes to rebound from a pair of losses by UD against Amanda Ribas and Alexa Grasso.
Also on the main card, Jonathan Martinez (18-4) faces his his fellow-American Adrian Yanez (16-4) at bantamweight. As well, Michel Pereira (28-11, 2 NC) of Brazil takes on Andre Petroski (10-1) of the United States at middleweight. Plus, Edgar Chairez (10-5) of Mexico meets Daniel Lacerda (11-5) of Brazil at flyweight. In addition, Christian Rodriguez (9-1) of the United States and Cameron Saaiman (9-0) of South Africa go head to head at bantamweight.
On the top of prelims Darren Elkins (28-11) and TJ Brown (17-10) square off in an all-American clash at featherweight. Also on the card a pair of bantamweight bouts featuring Irina Alekseeva (5-1) up against Melissa Dixon (5-0) of England and Chris Gutierrez (19-4-2) of the Unites States versus Heili Alateng (16-8-2) of China.
Plus, Ashley Yoder (8-8) and Emily Ducote (12-8) go toe-to-toe in an all-American bout at women’s strawweight and Terrance McKinney (14-6) of the United States meets Chris Duncan (11-1) of Scotland at lightweight. Rounding out the card, Tainara Lisboa (6-2) and Ravena Oliveira Morais (7-1-1) battle it out in an all-Brazil contest at women’s bantamweight.
UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs Barboza card
The current UFC Vegas 81: Yusuff vs Barboza fight card looks as the following:
Main card
- Sodiq Yusuff vs. Edson Barboza
- Jennifer Maia vs. Viviane Araujo
- Jonathan Martinez vs. Adrian Yanez
- Michel Pereira vs. Andre Petrosk
- Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda
- Christian Rodriguez vs. Cameron Saaiman
Preliminary card
- Darren Elkins vs. T.J. Brown
- Irina Alekseeva vs. Melissa Dixon
- Chris Gutierrez vs. Heili Alateng
- Ashley Yoder vs. Emily Ducote
- Terrance McKinney vs. Chris Duncan
- Tainara Lisboa vs. Ravena Oliveira
In Australia, UFC Vegas 81: Yusuff vs Barboza airs on Sunday, October 15 live on Kayo.
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