[MMA NEWS ARCHIVES]
This week, it was announced that Edson Barboza will be facing Bryce Mitchell in his next UFC bout. Here’s a look back on Barboza’s thoughts following one of the greatest KOs in MMA history published three years ago to this day.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 27, 2017, 7:57 AM]
While Edson Barboza claims that his spectacular wheel-kick over Terry Etim at UFC 142 in 2012 is ‘fresh in his mind’, he is keen to prove that he has a lot more to offer fight fans
“In kickboxing, I have crazy knockouts,” Barboza told MMAjunkie Radio. “You guys have no idea. I have a lot of knockouts. I think some knockouts are more important than the wheel kick.
“When I moved to the U.S., I started fighting in MMA, and everybody watched,” he said. “I was 2-0 or 3-0, and nobody wants to fight me, because everybody went on YouTube. People would watch my videos, and everybody pulled out (of fights). I told my friend, ‘Please, take all my YouTube videos down.’”
Barboza’s brutal KO is considered as one of the most spectacular in UFC history, frequently gracing knockout compilations and highlight reel features. The Brazilian insists, that while he is proud of that moment, he has a lot more to offer:
“I remember that day as very important for me, because I came from my first professional loss in kickboxing,” he said. “I really knocked the guy out. He was almost dead. It’s very fresh in my mind.”
Barboza will get his chance to show what he can do when he squares off against the injury-plagued but highly regarded UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 219 next month. A win can catapult him into title contention and Barboza feels that it is overdue:
“I’ve fought with seven guys in the top 15, and definitely, I think if I win this fight, I really deserve the title shot,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s (undisputed UFC lightweight champ) Conor (McGregor) or (interim champ Tony) Ferguson. But I definitely deserve the title shot.”
