Edson Barboza is still waiting for the final fight on his UFC contract to take place.
Barboza (21-9 MMA, 15-9 UFC), who notched his first victory at 145 pounds with a unanimous decision win over Makwan Amirkhani in October, has been eager for a quick turnaround but is yet to be offered a fight.
Following his win over Amirkhani, the longtime lightweight contender vented his frustration towards the UFC and his desire to be compensated for the body of work and exceptional highlights that he’s produced throughout his career.
But almost four months later, Barboza finds himself in the same place, as the Brazilian is still in limbo in terms of the next chapter of his career.
“Nope, nothing changed,” Barboza told MMA Junkie. “I was just waiting. I called my manager end of December and said, ‘Hey, if the UFC wants to give me a fight, please, I’m ready, and I was training a lot December, January. I’m ready. If the UFC gives me an opportunity to fight real soon, to fight the last fight, I’m ready. If you’re going to renew my contract, let’s see what happens, or let me go. I have three options right now, but let’s see what happens. Like I said, I have one more fight, and I’m ready for this fight.”
Though Barboza has lost three of his past four, two were controversial split-decision losses to Paul Felder and Dan Ige. He was able to rebound with a near flawless performance over Amirkhani, and with one fight remaining on his contract, Barboza has stressed that he’d like to draw a top-10 or top-five opponent as soon as possible.
“Thank God I was 100 percent healthy; I train a lot, I feel better and better every single day and I want to fight,” Barboza said. “I called my manager, and I told him I want to fight in January and it didn’t happen. I want to fight in February, February is now. Right now, I probably want to fight in March, I don’t know. Like I said, I’m ready UFC. Give me a couple of weeks, my weight is good, everything’s good, I’m ready to go.”
To hear the complete interview with Barboza, check out the video below.
