UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs. Barboza (also known as UFC Fight Night 230, UFC on ESPN+ 88, and UFC Vegas 81) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 14, 2023, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]
| UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs. Barboza | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs. Barboza | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | October 14, 2023 | |||
| Venue | UFC Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | Not announced[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
A featherweight bout between Sodiq Yusuff and Edson Barboza headlined the event.[3] They were previously expected to meet at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen in October 2020, but Yusuff pulled out due to undisclosed reasons.[4]
A bantamweight bout between Cameron Saaiman and Christian Rodriguez took place at the event.[5] The pairing was previously scheduled to meet at UFC 290 in July, but Rodriguez pulled out due to injury.[6] At the weigh-ins, Rodriguez weighed in at 140 pounds, four pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. Their bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined a percentage of his purse, which went to Saaiman.[7]
A women's bantamweight bout between Tainara Lisboa and Darya Zheleznyakova was scheduled for the event.[8] However, Zheleznyakova was removed due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by Ravena Oliveira.[9]
A flyweight bout between Tatsuro Taira and David Dvořák was expected to take place at the event.[10] However, the bout was cancelled for unknown reasons.[11]
A middleweight bout between Michel Pereira and Marc-André Barriault was expected to take place at the event.[12] However, Barriault withdrew due to medical issues and was replaced by Andre Petroski.[13]
A lightweight bout between Terrance McKinney and Chris Duncan was expected to take place at the event.[14] However, Duncan withdrew due to visa issues and was replaced by promotional newcomer Brendon Marotte.[15]
A flyweight rematch between Edgar Chairez and Daniel Lacerda was scheduled for the event. Their first meeting was ruled a no contest after referee Chris Tognoni mistakenly thought Lacerda was put to sleep from Chairez's standing guillotine at UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2.[16] However, due to Lacerda's medical issues, the bout was cancelled.[17]
Results
| Main card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Edson Barboza | def. | Sodiq Yusuff | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 48–46, 48–46) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Viviane Araújo | def. | Jennifer Maia | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Jonathan Martinez | def. | Adrian Yañez | TKO (leg kick) | 2 | 2:26 | |
| Middleweight | Michel Pereira | def. | Andre Petroski | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:06 | |
| Catchweight (140 lb) | Christian Rodriguez | def. | Cameron Saaiman | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN+) | |||||||
| Featherweight | Darren Elkins | def. | T.J. Brown | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 2:23 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Tainara Lisboa | def. | Ravena Oliveira | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Terrance McKinney | def. | Brendan Marotte | TKO (knee and punches) | 1 | 0:20 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Melissa Dixon | def. | Irina Alekseeva | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Chris Gutiérrez | def. | Alateng Heili | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Emily Ducote | def. | Ashley Yoder | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[19]
- Fight of the Night: Edson Barboza vs. Sodiq Yusuff
- Performance of the Night: Jonathan Martinez and Michel Pereira
