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Back in July, the stylish 31-year-old scored a first-round submission win over Danny Henry at UFC 251, lacing up an anaconda choke and putting the British fighter to sleep in just over three minutes. It was an impressive rebound performance following his UFC 244 loss to Shane Burgos in New York City last November, where he started quickly, but faded fast before being stopped late in the fight.
“I remember he has a real quick finish; eight seconds or something,” Barboza said when asked how much he knows about his fill-in opponent, correctly citing how long it took Amirkhani to stop Andy Ogle in his promotional debut at the start of 2015.
“It doesn’t matter, though,” he added. “I just have to do my best, be my best.”
And after admittedly being a little nervous about making the cut down to the featherweight limit for the first time ahead of his bout with Ige in May, the 34-year-old Barboza is brimming with confidence and feeling better than ever heading into his second appearance in the 145-pound weight class.
“I was a little scared — I’ll be honest — the first time,” he said of venturing down in weight earlier this year following more than a decade competing in the lightweight ranks. “Now, I feel good; I have no worries.”
Motivated by his frustrating recent results, confident after maintaining his speed and conditioning through his move down in weight, and bolstered by competing alongside his friend of more than 20 years for the first time in the UFC, Barboza believes that Saturday night will be his best performance to date.
“You guys are going to see the best Edson Barboza,” he said confidently. “You’ve got to watch. You will see.”
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