UFC Announces Featherweight Main Event for Fight Night In October

A pair of top featherweights will try to move closer towards the division's Top 10 in this main event.

Featherweight contenders Sodiq Yusuff and Edson Barboza will headline a UFC Fight Night card on October 14.

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The featherweight bout is a somewhat unexpected pick for a main event, but it does add some much-needed name value to a card at the UFC Apex facility that also features top bantamweight contenders Adrian Yanez and Jonathan Martinez. 

This Featherweight five-rounder 🔥🔥@Super_Sodiq vs @EdsonBarbozaJR is official to headline #UFCVegas81 on October 14th! pic.twitter.com/hYKZ2Rbe0n

— UFC (@ufc) September 6, 2023

Currently the UFC’s #11-ranked featherweight contender, Yusuff will be competing in his first main event when he takes on Barboza in Las Vegas.

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“Super” began his time in the UFC with four-straight wins before he lost a decision to Arnold Allen in 2021. The 30-year-old rebounded from that result by defeating longtime UFC veteran Alex Caceres, and in his last fight Yusuff only needed 30 seconds to submit the debuting Don Shainis with a guillotine choke.

Barboza established himself as a mainstay of the UFC’s lightweight division before making his featherweight debut in 2020, and "Junior" now sits at #13 in the division's rankings. 

The Brazilian has experienced mixed results at featherweight thus far, but after stopping Billy Quarantillo with a knee in his last outing Barboza will try to score back-to-back wins when he meets Yusuff in his fourth UFC main event.

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