Sodiq Yusuff

Overview

Three UFC finishes, all in the first round, and none since 2022. Sodiq Yusuff, the Lagos-born lightweight, is 6-4 in the UFC, and the recent picture is harder to read than the early one: he carries a three-fight losing streak into his next fight.

The early run was the real thing. He opened his UFC career with four straight wins and has never won more than four in a row. Since then it has been a mix of one-sided finishes and tight decisions that went against him.

UFC Career

Yusuff arrived through Dana White's Contender Series, where he beat Mike Davis by unanimous decision in July 2018. That fight is a professional win, not part of his UFC record. His UFC debut came months later, and it was quick: a first-round TKO of Suman Mokhtarian at 2:14.

Next came a unanimous decision over Sheymon Moraes, then a first-round TKO of Gabriel Benitez at 4:14 on the UFC 241 card. Andre Fili went the distance with him at UFC 246 and lost a unanimous decision, making it four straight.

The streak ended against Arnold Allen, who beat him by unanimous decision. Our model rates Allen a strong opponent. Yusuff bounced back with a decision over Alex Caceres and a 30-second submission of Don Shainis.

Then he headlined a card against Edson Barboza, a five-round main event that Barboza won by unanimous decision. Another strong opponent, another loss on the scorecards. Next was Diego Lopes at UFC 300, a first-round TKO loss at 1:29, the only time Yusuff has been stopped. Mairon Santos followed with a unanimous decision.

Three losses in a row, and the pattern is clear: two of the three went to the scorecards.

Fighting Style

Yusuff is a busy striker. He throws and lands at a high clip, and the rest of his striking profile (how often he connects, how well he avoids shots, how much he absorbs) looks like the UFC average. He puts a lot of volume out and takes a normal amount back.

He rarely goes to the ground on offense. He seldom shoots for takedowns and doesn't hunt for submissions much either. He is hard to take down, though, and that keeps most of his fights standing.

The finish pattern is front-loaded. All three of his UFC finishes came in round one, two by KO/TKO and one by submission. The other three wins went to decision. In the losses, he has been stopped once and gone to the scorecards three times.

Notable Wins

• Gabriel Benitez — KO/TKO, round 1, UFC 241 (2019)
• Don Shainis — submission, round 1 at 0:30, UFC Fight Night (2022)
• Andre Fili — unanimous decision, UFC 246 (2020)

Quick Facts

• Division: Lightweight
• UFC record: 6-4
• Professional record (all promotions): 13-5-0
• UFC debut: 2018
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 5'9" / 71"
• Born: Lagos, Nigeria