Edson
Barboza has electrified
Ultimate Fighting Championship fans for over 14 years and shows
no sign of slowing down after pulling off one of the biggest
comebacks of the year in the in the
UFC Fight Night 230 main event Saturday at the UFC Apex.
Barboza was done. Or so we thought. Sodiq
Yusuff was putting a beating on the Brazilian legend in the
first round of their featherweight clash and referee Herb Dean
could’ve stepped in at any time.
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Dean however continued to let Barboza compete and fight fans around
the world are thankful as Barboza recollected himself and put on a
masterful performance over the next four rounds to snatch away the
unanimous decision victory (48-46, 49-46, 48-46).
Yusuff couldn’t believe his eyes. After bulldozing Barboza in the
first, Barboza responded with his textbook body attack in the
second before dropping Yusuff with his trademark spinning wheel
kick in the third.
At this point Barboza had all the momentum as Yusuff desperately
looked for the energy to hold him off. Both men left it all in the
cage, but Barboza’s swing in momentum was too much to contain.
With the win, Barboza picks up his second victory in a row and
breaks the UFC record for Fight of the Night bonuses (9). Barboza
was previously tied with fellow UFC greats Nate Diaz,
Dustin
Poirier and Frankie
Edgar.
Viviane
Araujo should receive a warm welcome back to the Top 10 of the
UFC’s women’s flyweight rankings after notching a unanimous
decision win over No. 9 Jennifer
Maia (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Araujo banked the first two rounds after beating Maia to the punch
numerous times in the first round and putting her fellow Brazilian
countrywoman on her back in the second. Araujo had Maia in danger
after securing a crucifix, but Maia managed to escape.
In danger of losing her two-fight win streak, Maia upped the pace
in the third round and caught Araujo with hard right hands as she
backed up into the cage. Maia looked for a leg lock and was
inspired to fish for a finish but Araujo’s defense was too sturdy.
Despite Maia’s late fight surge, Araujo’s dominance over the first
10 minutes was enough to get the nod.
This year hasn’t been kind to Adrian
Yanez. Coming into 2023 with a 9-fight win streak, Yanez has
gone cold in his last two bouts against other deadly strikers.
Yanez hoped to bounce back from his first-round knockout loss to
Rob
Font last April with a win over Jonathan
Martinez, but Martinez’s gameplan was perfect from the ground
up.
Fighting from a southpaw stance, Martinez demoralized Yanez with
inside leg kicks to the lead leg. Martinez once stopped Cub Swanson
with leg kicks and he realized early that he could do the same to
Yanez. With every kick Yanez’s base grew weaker before finally
giving out completely at 2:26 of the second round.
Michel
Pereira used to cut 47 pounds to make the welterweight limit of
170 pounds, but those days are over for the Brazilian
boogeyman.
Pereira broke into the middleweight division in electrifying
fashion after stopping Andre
Petroski in the first round (1:06).
After circling the cage, Pereira drew Petroski into a flush right
hand before reigning down the finishing blows. The loss marked
Petroski’s first since 2020.
Christian
Rodriguez didn’t make any friends with UFC matchmakers after
missing weight for the second fight in a row but that may not
matter after his performance Saturday.
Rodriquez picked up his third straight impressive win over young
upstart Cameron
Saaiman (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in the opening bout of the main
card.
Saaiman and Rodriquez were brilliantly matched and their skill sets
made for a fun fight. Saaiman’s speed and work rate led to much
success for the South African but Rodriquez’s slick counters in
between punches were eye-opening. On the ground, the fight was just
as even as both men spent time in dominant positions, while
frantically scrambling out of submission attempts.
Ultimately it was Rodriquez’s poise and precision that outshined
Saaiman’s work rate.
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