Edson
Barboza refused to go away quietly, even when the chips were
down.
The 37-year-old Brazilian withstood a hellacious first-round
beating and once again asserted himself in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight division, as he
outlasted
Sodiq
Yusuff to a unanimous decision in the
UFC Fight Night 230 main event on Saturday at the UFC Apex in
Las Vegas. Despite the successful outcome, Barboza understands he
survived a close call and puts 100% of the blame on himself. Peril,
he admits, was largely self-inflicted.
“It was a strategic error of mine, not my team’s,” Barboza told
Sherdog.com. “My team told me not to brawl with him, especially at
the beginning of the fight. I didn’t have to make it a dogfight.
That’s what I did. I’m a fighter. He hit me. I wanted to hit him
back. The error was mine, and I paid for it. Thankfully, I was able
to turn things around over the next four rounds. I got ready for a
marathon, not a 100-meter race. In the end, everything worked
out.”
Barboza nudged his way back into the fight with a competitive
second round, then proceeded to outland the Team
Lloyd Irvin
representative by a 120-94 margin across the final 15 minutes. All
told, the two men combined to connect for nearly 400 total strikes
against one another. Their efforts resulted in $50,000 “Fight of
the Night” bonuses—the ninth such boon of Barboza’s career, which
ranks first on the UFC’s all-time list.
“Maybe that’s due to my fighting style,” he said. “I love to fight.
I love keeping it on the feet. I’m comfortable against anyone. I
think that tends to make for great fights, and, of course, we
should credit my opponents, too. I fight the best in the world.
Whenever you put two of the best together, you’ll always have a
great fight.”
Barboza, who turns 38 in January, has no plans to alter his
approach moving forward.
“I never thought much about changing things,” he said. “I’ve been
in the UFC for 13 years. Everyone knows what I do. I’m still able
to hurt my opponents. Of course, I always look to improve in every
facet every day. I work on my striking, jiu-jitsu and
grappling—everything. Things have worked out, and I’ll keep doing
what I’ve been doing. I train hard every day, looking to always
improve so I can reach my goal of being champion. Since my first
fight, the goal has been to be the best in my weight class. Nothing
has changed in that regard.”
The win over Yusuff improved Barboza to 18-11 in the UFC. He has
grown accustomed to the up-and-down existence many mixed martial
artists must learn to lead.
“It’s a part of our lives,” Barboza said. “Life is made of such
moments. Sometimes we’re happy, then we’re sad. We win. We lose. I
deal with that very well. I know that’s how things are. It’s part
of the process.”
Where the former
Ring of
Combat champion goes from here remains anyone’s guess, though
he wants to build on his momentum and continue his rise on the
featherweight ladder. Barboza still thinks he has what it takes to
reach the top of the mountain in the UFC.
“My next opponent, I hope, should be someone ranked above me,” he
said. “I believe I proved I have the ability to go against the best
in the world. That’s especially true now. My physical shape is
better than ever. I’m ready. I hope the UFC gives me someone above
me, so I can keep climbing up and have my shot at the belt. That’s
my main objective.”