While coping with the loss of his older brother, a fact few but Sodiq Yusuff were even aware of, the Nigerian-American held it together and absolutely mauled Suman Mokhtarian at UFC Adelaide.
The UFC returned to Australia Saturday night for their UFC Fight Night 142 card, topped by Junior Dos Santos vs. Tai Tuivasa. The second fight to go down on the UFC Adelaide main card featured Suman Mokhtarian and Sodiq Yusuff. This marked the UFC debuts of both fighters. Mokhtarian came off of competing on TUF 27, where he was eliminated in the quarter final. He entered the night with an undefeated record as a pro. Yusuff meanwhile entered the night with a 7-1 record outside of the UFC, with his last win coming over Mike Davis on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series.
This one was fast and furious and over before Mokhtarian really knew what hit him.
Yusuff pressed quickly but Mokhtarian got a hold of him and pressed him to the fence. They worked for position as Yusuff kneed the legs of Mokhtarian. Mokhtarian fired back knees of his own. Yusuff broke away and fired a flurry; Mokhtarian answered back but Yusuff turned it on, exploding. He loaded up the punches and hurt Mokhtarian. Mokhtarian retreated back to the fence and covered up but Yusuff was on him and he hammered his body with lefts and rights until the ref jumped in to stop the fight.
Nigeria stand up! @Super_Sodiq stops Mokhtarian in round 1! Wow! #UFCAdelaide pic.twitter.com/I2nyHtqOQ5
— UFC (@ufc) December 2, 2018
Quite the impressive debut for Yusuff, who revealed afterward that his brother had passed away while he was preparing for the fight. That he could even compete is impressive. Consider the featherweight division on notice.
Sodiq Yusuff def. Suman Mokhtarian by TKO, Round 1, 2:14
