Athletes
Edson Barboza Can't Wait To Feel The Energy
UFC Featherweight Edson Barboza Looks To Embrace The Moment When He Faces Billy Quarantillo In The Co-Main Event At UFC Kansas City.
Edson Barboza started training and competing in Muay Thai when he was eight years old before eventually transitioning to mixed martial arts. He reached the UFC in November 2010, debuting with a third-round stoppage win over Mike Lullo due to leg kicks at UFC 123, and from that point forward, the Brazilian has faced one of the most impressive collection of opponents in UFC history.
“I look and see all the names, and the UFC always gives me the chance to fight against the best in the world because I am one of the best in the world,” Barboza said Tuesday evening from his hotel room in Kansas City, where he’ll face Billy Quarantillo in the co-main event of this weekend’s fight card. “I’m proud of that. It makes me very happy that I’ve always tested myself against the best guys in the world.”
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This isn’t a case of a fighter offering false praise to the random assortment of athletes he’s shared the Octagon with over the years; painting the whole collection with a broad brush in an effort to be polite and pump his own tires a little.
When Barboza says he’s always given a chance to fight against the best in the world, he quite literally means he’s spent the duration of his UFC career competing against the very best in the lightweight, and now featherweight, divisions.
The South Florida product (by way of Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) will make his 28th appearance inside the Octagon this weekend. Here are the names of the 27 men he’s faced thus far, in chronological order, beginning with his debut:
Lullo, Anthony Njokuani, Ross Pearson, Terry Etim, Jamie Varner, Lucas Martins, Rafaello Oliveira, Danny Castillo, Donald Cerrone, Evan Dunham, Bobby Green, Michael Johnson, Paul Felder, Tony Ferguson, Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez, Beneil Dariush, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kevin Lee, Dan Hooker, Justin Gaethje, Paul Felder again, Dan Ige, Makwan Amirkhani, Shane Burgos, Giga Chikadze, and Bryce Mitchell.
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That’s two UFC lightweight champions, two interim UFC lightweight champions, a former Strikeforce champ, a former WEC champ, a former Ultimate Fighter winner, a handful of guys that are still currently contenders, one member of the UFC Hall of Fame Class of ’23, two fights with a criminally underrated “Irish Dragon,” a bunch of meetings with experienced divisional fixtures, and a couple matchups against guys that were significantly better than anyone ever gives them credit for like Njokuani, Etim, and Martins.
Generally speaking, people don’t hang around the UFC for 13 years, and those that do very seldom continue to face Top 20 competition throughout their careers, and yet here is Barboza, champing at the bit to get back into the Octagon after the longest layoff of his professional career.
Edson Barboza vs Billy Quarantillo Preview | UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Allen
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Edson Barboza vs Billy Quarantillo Preview | UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Allen
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“I really miss it because I really love my job, I love fighting, but, at the same time, I know God is good all the time,” Barboza said when asked about the anticipation he feels after more than a year on the sidelines. “He gave me more time to spend with my family, stay with my kids, and everything happens for a reason.”
After dropping a unanimous decision to Mitchell at UFC 272, Barboza was scheduled to face rising featherweight contender Ilia Topuria on October 29, but towards the end of September, the veteran was forced to withdraw from the contest after suffering a knee injury.
View Barboza's Athlete Profile | Check Out The Featherweight Rankings
“It’s the first time I’ve needed to pull out of a fight,” he said, shaking his head, still disappointed with having been unable to compete all these months later. “I’ve fought many, many times and never had to pull out, and most of the time, I was fighting with some injury, sometimes really bad, but for this one, I couldn’t walk well. It was crazy. This one was impossible (to fight) but thank God it’s over. I’m healthy, 100 percent, I’m excited, and I can’t wait.
“I really believe God has the best (in mind) for me right now. I really believe now is the right time to come back and I can’t wait for it to be Saturday night.”
There is a youthful exuberance to Barboza as he talks about returning to action — his eyes light up, his smile beaming — but the Brazilian comes back to an interesting crossroads. He turned 37 at the start of the year, and in addition to missing out on his October date due to an injury, he’s coming off consecutive losses.
While the strength of schedule has always been outstanding, he’s accumulated a lot of miles over the years, and with a beautiful family at home and his legacy as an all-action fighter that took on the best across multiple eras secured, it feels like Barboza might be nearing the end of the road.
“Bro — you have no idea how much I trained for this camp!” He said, shaking his head in disbelief at the effort he put in preparing for Quarantillo. “It’s crazy — I get older and I train better than ever; believe it or not.
“I really enjoy every moment. I’m very competitive and I feel that in training, in practice. I train with the best team in the world at American Top Team, and I’m still very competitive with the guys in training. There is young blood there, young killers, and they try to kill me, but I’m the same way. It’s still the same goal, nothing changed.”
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So if he’s still feeling this good, still enjoying the process every day, when will the Brazilian veteran start to ponder hanging up his gloves and shuffling off into retirement?
“When I feel I’m not competitive, because I hate losing,” he said, laughing. “If I feel like I can’t compete any more with the kids in the gym and I start to get a little lazy for training, because like I said, I still love waking up every single day, training hard, cutting weight, everything, and most important — I still love fighting.
“You guys are probably going to see me for a long, long time.”
At the very least, Barboza will make the walk again on Saturday night, to step in against Quarantillo, who collected a second-round stoppage win over Alexander Hernandez last December at UFC 282 and has gone 5-2 inside the Octagon since parlaying a defeat of Kamuela Kirk on Season 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series into a place on the UFC roster.
While he’s familiarized himself with his opponent’s tendencies and strengths, Barboza has kept the focus of his preparation on himself, confident that if he goes out this weekend and fights to the best of his abilities, he’ll get his hand raised.
But right now, it’s not even the thought of winning that gets the veteran excited — it’s simply the opportunity to make that walk again on Saturday.
“Bro…” he began, shaking his head and smiling wide. “Bro! That is the best feeling! I started doing this at eight years old — almost 30 years now — and I still really love it.
“I love training, honest, but fighting is different,” he added, the look on his face like that of a kid that just got exactly what they wanted on Christmas morning. “When I go in the cage, I see the crowd, hear everybody call my name… I can’t wait, bro. I can’t wait."
UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Allen took place live from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on April 15, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
