One standout name set to compete at UFC Vegas 106 almost gave up in his bid to overcome injuries and make it back to the cage.
After staging the UFC 315 pay-per-view in Montreal, Canada, mixed martial arts’ leading promotion is back at its home base of the Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday.
The latest UFC Fight Night to take place at the low-capacity venue will be headlined by a ranked welterweight matchup that sees Gilbert Burns tasked with handing Michael Morales his first loss.
Other storylines are set to play out on the undercard, and among the most notable is the return of a somewhat forgotten man.
Sodiq Yusuff pondered retirement amid injury issues post-UFC 300
UFC Vegas 106 will mark the return of longtime featherweight contender Sodiq Yusuff.
The 31-year-old Nigerian hasn’t been seen inside the cage since suffering a vicious knockout loss to Diego Lopes less than 90 seconds into their clash at the milestone UFC 300 event.
Speaking to E. Spencer Kyte for UFC.com, Yusuff provided context for his 13-month stint of inactivity, revealing that a difficult back injury left him contemplating retirement.
“It’s just been a lot of injuries; a lot of spinal and disc injuries,” Yusuff said. “A few herniations in my back and a few in my neck, so it’s just been dealing with that, being able to mitigate it and trying to get the body to get back in order.
“This has probably been the closest I’ve ever been to hanging it up, just because my body wasn’t keeping up anymore. There was one day I was trying to push through a practice and everything hurt at the time.
“I was in the middle of wrestling practice and I was having a hard time, constantly getting stingers, my back is locking up, and I literally left practice crying; I left in tears. I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know how much longer I want to do this for.’”
Sodiq Yusuff makes major career change for first fight since UFC 300
Adding to the intrigue behind Yusuff’s comeback is the fact that he’ll be making the walk as a lightweight fighter for the first time in his UFC career.
The Nigerian has chosen to bid farewell to the featherweight division and enjoy healthier fight weeks at 155 pounds.
Losing the need to stress about a sizable weight cut could prove useful as Yusuff gears up for a stiff challenge at UFC Vegas 106.
To record a first victory since 2022, ‘Super Sodiq’ must stall the charge of a 15-1 prospect and winner of The Ultimate Fighter in Mairon Santos.
Should Yusuff have his hand raised with an impressive performance, perhaps he can signal himself as a problem moving forward for the rest of the lightweight roster.