At UFC 134 Silva vs. Okami in Rio de Janeiro, all the attention will rightfully be on the UFC’s return to Brazil and Anderson Silva, who has time and again proven himself to be a cut above the rest and arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
There is, however, another unheralded, but phenomenally talented youngster, Edson Barboza Jr., who is also on the main card at UFC 134, taking on former Ultimate Fighter winner Ross Pearson.
Barboza is still unbeaten at 8-0 (2-0 UFC) in MMA and boasts an incredible six knockouts and one submission with only one fight going the distance to a unanimous-decision victory.
In his two fights in the UFC, he displayed a vicious arsenal of leg kicks, providing a Muay Thai clinic on his way to a TKO victory over Mike Lullo at UFC 123 and at UFC 128 against Anthony Njokuani, which produced the Fight of the Night.
At UFC 134, Ross Pearson (12-4, 4-1 in the UFC) will provide Barboza’s toughest test to date, and expect there to be fireworks in this battle. The Brazilian boasts a kickboxing record of 25-3 with 22 of those wins coming by way of knockout and is a Muay Thai specialist, emphasizing that he is one of the top strikers in the lightweight division (155 pounds).
He is also proficient on the ground, holding a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and is just 25 years old.
Edson Barboza continues to evolve and develop as a mixed martial artist, and expect him in the near future to develop into a serious championship-level contender and make a genuine run towards becoming the future UFC lightweight champion.
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