5 biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Sodiq Yusuff vs. Edson Barboza

Last night’s UFC event might’ve been overshadowed somewhat by KSI vs. Tommy Fury, but it turned out to be a solid show overall.

With a thrilling comeback in the headliner and a number of fun finishes on tap, UFC Fight Night: Sodiq Yusuff vs. Edson Barboza was well worth watching.

With that in mind, here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Sodiq Yusuff vs. Edson Barboza.

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#5. Darren Elkins – defeated TJ Brown in a UFC featherweight bout

Veteran Darren Elkins remains relevant after 13 years in the octagon [Image Credit: @darrenelkinsmma on Instagram]

Very few fighters who made their UFC debut back in 2010 are still around today, and even fewer of them are capable of continuing to win bouts there.

However, two outliers were in action last night and while Edson Barboza will get far more plaudits for his headlining win over Sodiq Yusuff, Darren Elkins’ victory over TJ Brown was almost as impressive.

Sure, Brown, who was coming into the bout off the back of a loss, isn’t a title contender by any means, meaning ‘The Damage’ won’t climb into the top 15 at 145 pounds off the back of his win.

Despite this, to see the 39-year old outfight his younger opponent and eventually choke him out in the third round was still stirring. As per usual, Elkins ended up bleeding, but in the end, he came away with his hand raised for the first time in over a year.

Essentially, ‘The Damage’ remains one of the most watchable veterans in the promotion right now, and this win was a timely reminder of that. If anything, he was unfortunate not to receive a $50k bonus for his work.

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#4. Terrance McKinney – defeated Brendan Marotte in a UFC lightweight bout

Terrance McKinney needed just 20 seconds to win last night [Image Credit: @twrecksmma on Instagram]

Whenever a fighter is faced with a last-minute replacement in the UFC, it’s always difficult for them to really shine. If they win with ease, it’s something they were expected to do anyway, and if they lose, it’s often hard for them to recover.

However, while Terrance McKinney fell into the former group last night against last-gasp foe Brendan Marotte, it was impossible not to be impressed.

‘T-Wrecks’ has long been known as one of the most explosive fighters on the lightweight roster, and he lived up to that reputation here, needing just 20 seconds to dispatch Marotte with sheer brutality.

A huge knee in the opening seconds essentially did for the newcomer. While a flurry of punches on the ground caused the stoppage, the fight was basically over long before.

While McKinney somehow didn’t claim an extra $50k for his win, it did continue his run of never going the distance in the octagon – a run of eight fights now – and he could well step back into action soon. That makes him a big winner for sure.

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#3. Jonathan Martinez – defeated Adrian Yanez in a UFC bantamweight bout

Jonathan Martinez might be the dark horse contender at 135lbs [Image Credit: @ufc on Instagram]

Outside of the headliner, it’s arguable that on paper, the best fight on last night’s card was the bantamweight clash between Jonathan Martinez and Adrian Yanez.

Not only were both men ranked in the top 15 coming into the bout, but they were also renowned for putting on exciting fights. However, while many fans favored Yanez to win, it was actually Martinez who came through with one of his biggest wins yet.

‘The Dragon’ nullified Yanez’s slick boxing by basically chopping him down with leg kicks, hurting him badly in the first round before putting him down for good with a series of more brutal shots in the second.

Remarkably, this was Martinez’s second win in the octagon via leg kicks – a UFC record – after he used them to dispatch Cub Swanson almost a year ago.

Given that ‘The Dragon’ is now on a six-fight win streak, it’s hard not to view him as a dark horse title contender at this point. After this huge win, it’s unlikely that anyone will sleep on him again.

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#2. Michel Pereira – defeated Andre Petroski in a UFC middleweight bout

Michel Pereira thrilled fans in his middleweight debut [Image Credit: @ufc on Instagram]

Given that he was essentially forced up to 185 pounds after failing to make weight for a welterweight bout with Stephen Thompson in the summer, it was hard to know what to expect from Michel Pereira last night.

‘Demolidor’ was clearly a hulking 170lber, but faced with a hard-nosed, tricky grappler in Andre Petroski, it was easy to see him slipping up in his middleweight debut.

However, Pereira ended up making light work of Petroski, needing just over a minute to end his unbeaten run in the UFC.

‘Demolidor’ measured up his foe, decked him with a quick right hand, and then finished him off with some shots on the ground.

He’ll need another big win at least before being considered a contender in this division, but judging on this, there’s every chance he gets there in the future.

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#1. Edson Barboza – defeated Sodiq Yusuff in a UFC featherweight bout

Edson Barboza produced a classic comeback to beat Sodiq Yusuff [Image Credit: @ufc on Instagram]

The biggest winner at last night’s event was definitely veteran featherweight Edson Barboza. ‘Junior’ survived a horrendous first round to roar back and defeat prospect Sodiq Yusuff, completing one of the best comebacks in some time.

Quite how the Brazilian, who has never been renowned for his durability, survived the first round is anyone’s guess. Yusuff dropped him with a right hand and didn’t really let up from there, hammering him with heavy shots both on the feet and on the ground.

However, once he did survive, he began to thrive, as an apparently tired Yusuff couldn’t land with the same output. This allowed Barboza to get into a rhythm, and in the third round in particular, he dominated almost as much as ‘Super Sodiq’ had done in the first.

Eventually, despite Yusuff’s best efforts, there was only one winner here. Will ‘Super Sodiq’ regret letting Barboza off the hook in that first round?

Absolutely, but at the end of the day, ‘Junior’ was tough enough to get through a bad spot and once again showed why he’s still very relevant in this division. Overall, the Brazilian was definitely the biggest winner from last night’s event.

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