UFC Vegas 81 Results and Recap: Barboza Lands Decision Win In Five-Round Thriller Against Yussuf

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Las Vegas, October 16: Edson Barboza outworked Sodiq Yussuf in the main event of UFC Vegas 81: Yussuf vs. Barboza at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas on Sunday (October 15).

The 11-fight card saw four fights end in stoppages, while seven fights went the distance for the decision. Among the 4 stoppage wins, 3 were knockouts or technical knockouts and 1 was a submission win.

Barboza's decision win against Yussuf was awarded fight of the night bonus, while two other fighters - Jonathan Martinez and Michael Pereira - pocketed an extra USD50K as performance bonuses for their respective stoppage wins on the main card.

UFC Vegas 81 Recap

In the main event, Yusuff pummelled fellow featherweight contender Barboza in a dominant first round that made it clear he was in it to deny the veteran a climb up the rankings.

But #13 ranked Barboza recovered with amazing tenacity and smartly worked the body into the third where he landed a magnificent spinning wheel kick. Yusuff recovered and brought it even in the fourth, but Barboza's ring generalship and takedowns in the fifth sealed the deal.

After the unanimous decision win, Barboza said, "That (first round hit hard, I really didn't know where I was. Thank God I recovered and listened to my coaches and came back stronger.

"It tried to finish the fight, but he's one of the best in the world. What a war, a great fight. I hope you guys enjoyed it. One more win!" Barboza said in the Octagon interview.

In the co-main event, Viviane Araujo bought her way into the top ten of the women's flyweight division with an aggressive performance against former title challenger Jennifer Maia.

The #9 ranked Maia used good wrestling and attempted multiple submissions, but the judges placed #11 Araujo the winner on the scorecards. After the decision win, Araujo said, "I had to do so much for this fight, I want to thank my team and my family.

"I'm very grateful and happy for this win. The word in camp was 'patience'. Patience, punches in bunches... get the fight to the ground. We did that!," Araujo said in the Octagon interview.

Also on the main card, Pereira made a statement in his middleweight debut, dispatching Andre Petroski in under 90 seconds before Martinez finished Adrian Yanez in second round, collecting his second stoppage due to leg kicks and sixth straight victory overall.

In the main card opener, Bantamweight prospects Christian Rodriguez and Cameron Saaiman battled in a scramble-heavy, competitive scrap between a pair of talented emerging talents with the former taking the win after earning the points on the judges scorecard.

The preliminary card saw Tainara Lisboa, Melissa Dixon, Chris Gutierrez and Emily Ducote earned decision wins in their respective bouts, while Terrance McKinney and Darren Elkins claimed stoppage wins. Here is a look at the final results of UFC Fight Night: Yussuf vs Barboza:

UFC Vegas 81 Results

Main Card

1. Featherweight Bout: Edson Barboza defeated Sodiq Yusuff by unanimous decision (49-46, 48-46, 48-46)

2. Women's Flyweight Bout: Viviane Araujo defeated Jennifer Maia by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

3. Bantamweight Bout: Jonathan Martinez defeated Adrian Yanez by TKO (leg kicks) at 2:26 of Round 2

4. Middleweight Bout: Michel Pereira defeated Andre Petrovski by TKO (strikes) at 1:06 of Round 1

5. Bantamweight Bout: Christian Rodriguez defeated Cameron Saaiman by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Preliminary Card

1. Featherweight Bout: Darren Elkins defeated TJ Brown by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:23 of Round 3

2. Women's Bantamweight Bout: Tainara Lisboa defeated Ravena Oliveira by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

3. Lightweight Bout: Terrance McKinney defeated Brendon Marotte by TKO (strikes) at 0:20 of Round 1

4. Women's Bantamweight Bout: Melissa Dixon defeated Irina Alekseeva by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

5. Bantamweight Bout: Chris Gutierrez defeated Alatengheili by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

6. Women's Strawweight Bout: Emily Ducote defeated Ashley Yoder by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)