Edson Barboza gets new opponent after Jeremy Stephens fight sizzles out

A featherweight firefight between two high-level strikers in Edson Barboza and Sodiq Yusuff has been booked for an upcoming UFC event.

As previously reported, Barboza was expected to fight on the October 10 UFC Fight Night event set to take place on Fight Island. His opponent was supposed to be Jeremy Stephens, but according to a report from Combate, Stephens did not feel he had enough time to make the 145lbs limit safely. Instead, the UFC has found a new opponent for Barboza, and he will take on Yusuff in what should be a fantastic fight.

This UFC Fight Night event on October 10 is expected to be headlined by a bantamweight bout between top contenders Marlon Moraes and Cody Sandhagen. It feels fair to assume that Barboza vs Yusuff will land somewhere on the main card.

Barboza (20-9) is 14-9 overall in the UFC but he is coming off of three straight losses to Dan Ige, Paul Felder, and Justin Gaethje. However, many felt that he should have earned the judges’ nod against both Ige and Felder. Barboza is not currently ranked in the top-15 of the UFC featherweight division, but he would be if the judges gave him the Ige decision. Regardless, he’s an elite talent who holds notable UFC wins over the likes of Beneil Dariush, Dan Hooker, and Anthony Pettis.

Yusuff (11-1) has been fantastic since joining the UFC following the second season of Dana White’s Contender Series. Yusuff has a perfect 4-0 record in the UFC with wins over Andre Fili, Gabriel Benitez, Sheymon Moraes, and Suman Mokhtarian. Overall, he’s riding a six-fight win streak. He is currently ranked at No. 11 in the division. While Yusuff may not be as big of a name as Stephens, he could arguably prove to be a tougher opponent for Barboza.

Who do you think wins, Edson Barboza or Sodiq Yusuff?