UFC Legend Edson Barboza Defeats Nigeria’s Sodiq Yusuff in Heavy Hitting UFC Vegas 81 Main Event

• Sodiq Yusuff started the fight strong and almost finished Edson Barboza in round one
• Brazilian legend Barboza fought back and started to outpoint Nigeria's Yusuff afterwards
• Hall of Famer Barboza was declared the winner of the main event by unanimous decision

Edson Barboza has proven why he's a legend of MMA.

The Brazilian featherweight survived a scare in round one to secure a unanimous decision victory over Nigeria's Sodiq Yusuff in the main event of UFC Vegas 81.

Yusuff meant business in round one as he showed no respect for the legend Barboza. The Nigerian Featherweight never allowed Barboza to get going and hammered him with heavy shots.

Yusuff dropped Barboza early in the round and followed up with some big strikes, but the Brazilian managed to get back to his feet. Yusuff pushed forward again and continued to damage his opponent.

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It wasn’t just on the feet that the Nigerian dominated; he also punished the Brazilian on the ground, showing no signs of slowing down. Barboza was bullied in the first round but found his range in the second.

The 37-year-old responded in a big way in round two, coming forward more and limiting Yusuff’s offence. The commentators speculated that Yusuff burnt himself out in the first round, as he didn’t show the same intent.

Barboza turns the tide

The third round was a more even affair as Yusuff and Barboza traded blows. Both men got in some good shots, but the defining moment came late in the third as the Brazilian landed a vicious spinning backheel kick to the head that dazed the Nigerian star.

Barboza tried to press home his advantage, but Yusuff managed to make it to the end of the round without taking further damage.

Barboza, who debuted in the UFC in 2010, showed his experience at the start of the fourth round as he landed some nice jabs while avoiding taking damage. He got in some big shots to the body and seemed to control the pace.

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Yusuff fought his way back in as the round wore on, and he looked less shaken. With the fourth round pretty even, both men went into the fifth and final round looking for a decisive win.

There would be no decisive winner in the last round as both men had their moments. The Brazilian ended the round in the top position after he took Yusuff down to the ground.

The decision went to the judges’ scorecards, and they viewed it 49-46. 48-46 and 48-46, all in favour of the veteran.