The celebratory post-fight champagne is sitting in a pool of melted ice somewhere in Brazil, following Michael Johnson’s decision win over Edson Barboza at UFC Fight Night 61.
The Ginasio Gigantinho in Porto Alegre, Brazil, was filled to capacity with thousands of eager fans awaiting Barboza’s return to Brazil. Unfortunately, Barboza, a human highlight reel, wasn’t anywhere near his usual fantastical self against an ever-improving Johnson.
Sunday night’s co-main event bout represented a battle for relevancy in the UFC’s crowded lightweight division.
Barboza and Johnson are typically swept under the rug in championship conversations, but they both had an opportunity to make some noise in a primetime slot on Fox Sports 1. A cliff note in history could one day tell of the underestimated importance this fight had in propelling one of the fighters to a UFC title run.
Here is what we learned from Sunday’s lightweight tilt.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
Johnson’s utilization of persistent pressure to negate Barboza’s kick-heavy offense was masterful.
There are plenty of reasons why fighters hate fighting southpaws. In Barboza’s case, the open guard stance eliminated his ability to wrap around his opponent’s lead leg with rear kicks. Instead, he was forced to resort to backpedaling and targeting Johnson’s body.
The fact that Johnson was a southpaw already eliminated one of Barboza’s favorite weapons, but it was Johnson’s ability to constantly press forward that truly eliminated the space needed to throw kicks, thus turning the contest into a boxing match.
Barboza is one of the most talented strikers in the UFC, but he tends to get a bit sloppy in the pocket. It also didn’t help that his back was to the cage throughout the entire fight. Johnson had too much space to work with for Barboza to ever have a chance.
It was the perfect game plan.
What We Learned About Barboza
No one is going to deny Barboza’s world-class striking, but there are still some deficiencies in his fight game that continue to go unnoticed.
Every fighter isn’t going to sit in the open and exchange pleasantries with a Muay Thai specialist like Barboza. It isn’t any secret that pressure is the best counter to good kicking game. Barboza needs to go back to the basics and work on tightening up his footwork to reroute opponents whenever they try to close the distance.
He’s always going to have a tough time getting off if his back is constantly to the cage. An improved boxing game could also help ensure that he’s ready to battle more effectively and with better precision when the pocket closes.
What We Learned About Johnson
Johnson has come a long way since his days on The Ultimate Fighter.
The Blackzilian prodigy has retooled his arsenal in Boca Raton, Florida, with a vastly improved striking game to match his high level grappling. He also showed an ability to readjust his game plan and overcome a little adversity after eating multiple body kicks from Barboza.
It was a coming of age performance for a fighter many used to criticized for having a passive fighting style.
With consecutive wins over Joe Lauzon, Melvin Guillard, Gleison Tibau and now Edson Barboza, Johnson is ready to test his skills against the lightweight elite.
What’s Next for Barboza
A setback in the lightweight division is often felt twice as hard given the wealthy crop of talent.
There are far too few opportunities to slip up, unless you’ve already established yourself as a bona fide star. While Barboza is a tremendous fighter, his name doesn’t hold enough weight to command a big fight after a loss.
He now has to scratch and claw his way back to the forefront of the hungry herd. As the clichéd saying goes, it’s back to the drawing board. Barboza should consider himself lucky if the UFC offers up Myles Jury as a comeback opponent, but Adriano Martins makes the most sense at this point.
What’s Next for Johnson
Johnson is quietly climbing into the title conversation.
The logjam at 155 pounds has finally cleared now that UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis is back into the fold.
Rafael dos Anjos is scheduled to contend for the title in March, and a likely No. 1 contender’s bout between Donald Cerrone and Khabib Nurmagomedov is already slated for May. This leaves Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez as the only top lightweight fighters without scheduled opponents.
If Johnson hopes to vie for UFC gold, he will have to go through one of those guys.
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