Edson Barboza has called his shot after impressively dispatching of Shane Burgos at UFC 262 this past weekend.
The Brazilian knockout artist battered Brugos over two rounds before landing a shot that caused one of the craziest knockouts you’re ever likely to see in the third and final frame.
Barboza stretched his winning streak to two at featherweight although he would argue he should boast a perfect 3-0 record after falling to a close and controversial loss against Dan Ige in his 145lb debut. He’s now looking to keep his impressive form going against one of the top featherweight fighters.
“You can see the top five guys: Calvin Kattar, Yair Rodriguez, Zabit (Magomedsharipov), ‘Korean (Zombie)’, Max Holloway,” Barboza told MMA Junkie. “That’s a main event. That’s a pay-per-view fight, for sure. UFC always gives me a chance to fight the best guys at 155. I hope they give me the chance to fight the best guys at 145.”
A potential fight with the former champion, Max Holloway, is of particular interest to Barboza.
“Make a fight me and Holloway, five rounds, that would be crazy,” Barboza said. “That would be (one where) 100 percent people would love this fight. Me against Kattar, me against Rodriguez. I really believe I really deserve a top-five guy because my last two fights – I beat Ige, (who) was a top 10. Now I beat Burgos, he’s a top 10. I believe all my history with my performances, I really deserve a top-five next.”
Barboza doesn’t want to sit out for too long and has already earmarked a date for his next bout.
“I think I saw a card on the Aug. 27 or something like that,” Barboza said. “That’s going to be perfect. Rest this week, back to training next week. End of August going to be perfect to get back to fight.”
Who do you want to see Edson Barboza fight next?