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The UFC veteran may be looking for other promotions to compete for pretty soon.
The next time Edson Barboza sets foot inside the UFC Octagon may very well be his last.
Barboza last fought in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen, where he defeated Makwan Amirkhani by way of unanimous decision. The win over Amirkhani saw Barboza return to the win column after three straight losses to Justin Gaethje, Paul Felder and Dan Ige in the last year and a half.
Barboza is currently on the last fight of his contract with the UFC and he is prepared to fight it out in order to pursue new opportunities with other promotions. He initially brought up the idea in March, when Barboza tweeted out a message to both UFC President Dana White and UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby after being on the sidelines for several months before eventually getting the Ige fight.
The lightweight standout turned featherweight competitor spoke to Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting about his decision to potentially leave the promotion he has been a part of for more than a decade.
“I have one more fight on my contract and I plan on doing this fight, and we’ll think about what we’ll do next after the contract is completed,” said Barboza. “I’m in the UFC for 10 years, I love fighting in the UFC, and everything I have today I’ve undoubtedly conquered with the UFC so I love being there, but I’m open to offers — after this fight, of course.”
Barboza does not have a fight scheduled at the moment, but he has spoke about fighting a contender in the top six of the featherweight division by the end of the year. Per the official UFC rankings, the top six of the division consists of names such as Max Holloway, Brian Ortega, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Yair Rodriguez, Chan Sung Jung and Calvin Kattar.
Some of these names have either fought already or are scheduled to fight on an upcoming card, but Barboza is hoping to get one of them for his final fight.
“Ortega will probably fight for the belt now,” said Barboza. “‘The Korean Zombie’ is coming off a loss to Ortega but he’s a great athlete. Kattar is No. 6 and is coming off wins, good fights, and that would be a great fight on the feet. Holloway is the No. 1, I don’t know if they would offer me that but it’s a great matchup, no doubt. It would be a great fight.”
If Barboza were to leave the promotion, he would do so as one of the best competitors at both 145 and 155 pounds. He is well known for his flashy style and fight-ending ability, which has seen him awarded with multiple performance bonuses — including one for Knockout of the Night against Terry Etim at UFC 142.