UFC featherweight Edson Barboza is on the hunt for his next opponent and has named Calvin Kattar as his top priority.
The Brazilian is officially 2-1 in the 145-pound division, having moved down a weight class following back-to-back losses against lightweights Justin Gaethje and Paul Felder in 2019.
Since a defeat against Dan Ige in his featherweight welcoming, a result that he still disputes, the 35-year-old has convincingly beaten Makwan Amirkhani and Shane Burgos.
The win against “Hurricane,” which pushed him to a positive record in his new division, came at UFC 262 last month.
In what was the Fight of the Night, Barboza gave us one of the craziest knockouts in recent UFC history.
After landing a clean right, Barboza watched on as Burgos’ body held on for close to five seconds before falling against the cage. It’s safe to say we’d never seen a delayed knockout quite like it.
After recording consecutive wins against two highly-regarded prospects and rising into the featherweight top 10, Edson Barboza is understandably looking to enter the Octagon with a top name next time out.
In an interview with MMA Junkie, Barboza laid out his timeline for his next bout and suggested a matchup with “The Boston Finisher.”
“Like I said, I still want to fight the guy right in front of me in the top 5. Because I feel I really deserve (it). I have three straight wins in this division. I really believe I beat Ige. And he knows that I beat him. But, yeah, I really deserve a top 5, I think. Only Calvin Kattar don’t have a fight in top 5. And yeah, only him.
“I want to fight maybe end (of) August, beginning of September. If (Kattar) don’t want to fight me, for sure I want to fight somebody (ranked) close to me.”
When asked whether he’d be willing to be a short-notice replacement for the Holloway vs. Rodriguez fight next month, Barboza stated that despite still carrying some aches and pains, he’s not far from full fitness.
“It’s funny because my social media, people tagging me, they say, ‘Bro, keep ready. Stay ready because I know Yair is gonna be out of the fight.’ But I hope he (doesn’t pull out). I hope he (has) a good camp and fight Holloway. But like I said, I’m back to training. And of course, I still (have) damage in my chin; my foot still hurts a little bit, very light to keep my weight down. And yeah, I don’t need much time to get 100% to fight.”
Would you like to see Barboza face Kattar next?
