UFC 142 Results: 3 Reasons Edson Barboza Is a Legitimate Title Threat

We are not even a month into 2012, and we may have already witnessed the knockout of the year.

Edson Barboza came into UFC 142 as one of the brightest up-and-coming stars in the UFC. With an opportunity to shine in front of his fellow countrymen in Brazil, he did not let them down.

After two entertaining rounds of back-and-forth exchanges with Terry Etim, Barboza was clearly in the lead and was closing in on his third consecutive decision victory.

But instead of playing it safe, Barboza threw a crazy spinning wheel kick that landed flush with Etim’s chin, scoring one of the most memorable UFC knockouts in history.

With four straight wins inside the Octagon and his level of competition increasing with every bout, Barboza is now ready to take the step into title contention, and the rest of the lightweight division needs to start worrying.

Outstanding Stirking

As far as technical striking goes, no one in the lightweight division can even begin to compare with Edson Barboza.

His leg kicks can only be described as brutal, his punching and kicking power is enough to rock anyone on the feet and his unorthodox strikes come often enough to make his opponent uncomfortable.

No one in the lightweight division has the pure striking skills as Barboza, and unless someone is able to crack him in the mouth and knock him unconscious, he will win nearly any fight that takes place on the feet.

Takedown Defense

While he hasn’t yet fought an elite wrestler, the few opponents that have tried to get Barboza to the mat have failed to do so.

The only time that Barboza has spent any significant time on the mat was his fight against Mike Lullo in his UFC debut, where he survived a few hairy moments and showed he can defend against a submission artist.

As long as Barboza can use his takedown defense to keep the fight on the feet, he has a chance to win every fight he’s in.

Exciting Fights

Including last night’s win, Barboza has won Fight of the Night in his three last bouts inside the Octagon.

Those types of performances will get you closer to a title fight than anything else in the UFC, as Dana White and company love exciting fighters even more than they love winning fighters.

A fighter with Barboza’s skill set and style could easily rule a UFC weight class for a long time, and as long as he keeps putting on exciting fights, a title fight is inevitable for the rising lightweight.