MANILA, Philippines – Could this be one last glorious ride into the UFC and mixed martial arts sunset for Brazilian Edson Barboza?
At 37 years of age, he looks superbly fit just as he was when he started out 14 years ago. After his first six professional fights, the UFC called him up after seeing him dispatch foes in the very first round of five of those matches.
The UFC was a lot harder even if the Brazilian won his first four matches albeit all by going the distance. In that time, he won two matches with leg kicks — an aspect of his game that commentator Joe Rogan would proclaim Barboza as having the best kicks in MMA.
Then came that loss to Jamie Varner, who knocked Barboza out in the first round. The warning signs of going the distance in his UFC start and getting floored was a portent of things to come.
The loss seemed like a bump in the road, and Barboza won three straight. Then came the loss to Donald Cerrone, Michael Johnson and Tony Ferguson in between wins.
Despite losing to three top fighters, Barboza was moving up the UFC lightweight ladder. That is until UFC 219, where Khabib Nurmagomedov won by unanimous decision. Since that match, Barboza lost six more timem knocking him down the ladder of title contention, which is a tragedy for someone so promising.
After defeating Billy Quarantillo in April of 2023, Barboza is embarking on one last run. Technically, he can still fight for a few more years. However, if he wants to make his move, now is better than tomorrow as he gets older and fights younger fighters.
On Sunday, October 15, Barboza will take on Sodiq Yusuff in the main event. It will be his fourth time to headline a UFC event.
While for any fighter at his age it is good because the world’s premier combat sports organization recognizes his talent and skill.
Barboza will have to temper any giddiness because in the three previous times he was the main event, he lost. All three of them. To Kevin Lee, Justin Gaethje and Giga Chikadze.
He will take his 23-11 (17-11 in the UFC) record against Yusuff’s 13-2 slate in this featherweight bout. The 30-year old Nigerian is 6-1 in the UFC and is on a two-match win streak.
This will be a stern test for Yusuff because in spite of Barboza being older, he has not lost his speed or the lethalness in his kicks.
A win over the Brazilian will place him in the top 10 featherweight rankings. But that remains to be seen because this has all the makings of a gritty fight that could go the distance.
There’s a lot at stake for both fighters come October 15.
UFC Fight Night Edson Barboza vs Sodiq Yusuff will be televised live in the Philippines on the Premier Sports channel on Skycable and Cignal as well as on the TapGo TV and Blast TV streaming sites. The preliminary cards begin at 4 a.m. with the main cards getting underway at 7 a.m.