Edson
Barboza and Sodiq
Yusuff were an easy choice for “Fight of the Night” on
Saturday.
The featherweights received $50,000 apiece for their
back-and-forth, five-round battle in the
UFC Fight Night 230 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Yusuff had Barboza reeling early in Round 1, but the Brazilian
veteran displayed tremendous resilience in a remarkable comeback
performance. He dropped Yusuff with a spinning wheel kick in the
third frame and relied on consistent body work to earn a
hard-fought unanimous decision triumph.
Elsewhere, Jonathan
Martinez utilized punishing leg kicks to earn a $50,000
“Performance of the Night” bonus in a victory over Adrian
Yanez in a featured bantamweight affair. Martinez hobbled his
foe over the course of the bout, ultimately forcing a stoppage due
to the barrage of kicks at the 2:26 mark of Round 2.
Finally, Michel
Pereira garnered a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for
a successful UFC middleweight debut. “Demolidor” made short work of
opponent Andre
Petroski, as he dropped his foe with a right hand and pounced
with standing-to-ground punches to earn a TKO victory at the 1:06
mark of Round 1.