Quarantillo called this one a ‘banger’ and he’s not wrong.
The UFC is giving us a potential ‘Fight of the Night’ as the co-headliner of an upcoming event.
Edson Barboza vs. Billy Quarantillo is joining the line-up of a UFC Fight Night scheduled for April 15 at a soon-to-be-announced location and venue. Quarantillo announced the fight on his OnlyFans.
“It is official,” said Quarantillo. “I just got the contract. I will be fighting Edson Barboza on April 15 for one of the UFC Fight Nights. From what I’ve heard, it’s not going to be at the APEX. It is going to be at an arena and this fight will be the co-main event. Super excited about this fight. This is the fight that I asked for. Shoutout to Iridium [Sports Agency], my management, Jason House, all those guys.
“It was a top-15 opponent, I’m headed in that direction,” continued Quarantillo. “I wanted to fight a big name. I wanted to fight a guy who’s ranked and this checks all the boxes. I’ve been watching Edson Barboza fight forever, I’m a huge fan of his, and I got nothing but respect for him.”
Thanks everyone who follows me on OF got to hear it first… can’t wait for this one pic.twitter.com/E4NoRkrq1G
— Billy Quarantillo (@BillyQMMA) January 19, 2023
Since moving from lightweight to featherweight, Barboza has struggled in his past five Octagon appearances. Following wins over Makwan Amirkhani and Shane Burgos, the Brazilian has suffered consecutive losses to Giga Chikadze and Bryce Mitchell at UFC Vegas 35 and UFC 272, respectively.
Barboza was scheduled to return against Ilia Topuria, but withdrew because of a knee injury that required surgery.
Quarantillo has alternated between wins and losses recently. ‘Billy Q’ rebounded from a loss to the aforementioned Burgos with a second-round TKO of Alexander Hernandez at UFC 282 this past December.
Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for updates to the UFC Fight Night as they become available in the coming months.
About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)