Edson Barboza – Finding A New Destiny

"I ask the fans to come before the main card, because they'll see a guy determined to display the best. And it doesn't matter if it is a preliminary or not, UFC is always great, so whoever is in their seats early will see a great show." Born and raised in Nova Friburgo, a highland city in Rio de Janeiro, UFC newcomer Edson Barboza - who faces Mike Lullo on the preliminary portion of UFC 123 this weekend - was a fearless young man when his focus was linked to Muay Thai competitions.      
The lightweight with the ferocious fists and kicks always figured in the Brazilian top five when it came to striking, and his power and accuracy almost guaranteed a knockout loss to his opponents and promised fans and the media that a backward step wouldn’t be seen from Barboza.   
A prototype Muay Thai fighter - tall, quick and lethal – Barboza started early, being introduced to the art when he was only eight years old. And what started just as a means to calm down an excitable boy became a career.   
"I started very young in Muay Thai, in the hangar of a Samba entity," he says of his beginnings. "My father didn't have the ability to put me in paid martial arts classes, so I joined this social project which taught Muay Thai to kids. Then my passion for the sport started from the very first contact."   
From the first touch of gloves in training until his first match, the young Barboza didn't waste much time. In the same year he started knowing Muay Thai, he tested the part of his being that what would eventually earn him status, respect and titles - his will.    
"I beat my opponent when he didn't answer the bell for round two. That was my first technical knockout (laughs). The kid didn't stop crying and I was victorious. I still have the tape saved."   
A proud memory for family and friends nowadays, it seems a bit curious how a mother could permit her beloved young son to train in a full-contact sport. But don't get me wrong, Barboza's mother didn't like it in the beginning, and still doesn't completely, as she doesn’t watch his professional fights, but with the support of his father, who put him in that social project back in 1994, the Muay Thai ace, a member of Team Anderson Franca, excelled.   
"I got the Brazilian championship, the Brazilian Circuit and the Demoliton Grand Prix," he said, listing his important titles, but his true growth came in one of his only three defeats. "We had a Grand Prix named La Gara, with four fights to be the champion, I lost the final (to Tadeu San Martino), but I was fighting in a division above mine (167). I knocked three guys out and the competition was very important to show my disposition to overcome hurdles."   
The Demolition GP, held in 2007, was a solid chapter into the life of Barboza. He knocked out his first two opponents, one of them the K-1 World MAX participant, Marfio Canolleti, and avenged his defeat in the final against San Martino. With 100% of his focus turned in one direction - the K-1 World MAX in Japan - Barboza was thisclose to making a life fighting stand-up, a dream that didn't come out of his mind after the insignificant payout he got at his first pro fight.   
But Barboza didn't count on the power of silence.   
"My manager tried to contact and deal with Japan several times, but no positive words were being received. After one year without anything happening, we resolved to opt for the MMA path - doors were opened this way and I could work my career better."   
The change was extreme. Considering Barboza was a Muay Thai fighter with zero MMA experience and with the level of the sport nowadays, he could need a time to adapt that would cost him opportunities and, even worse, victories. However, he had some surprises following his switch, as he had been cross training with Brazilian Jiu-jitsu guys and a manager, Alex J. Davis, who is a black belt in BJJ and Judo.   
"I polished the Muay Thai of BJJ black belt Flavio Serafim and he taught me BJJ for fun," said the BJJ blue-belt. "So my entrance into MMA was easy because I trained BJJ for a long time. After moving to USA I increased that with top level guys like Eduardo Guedes, Rafael Chaves, Pablo Popovich, Wagner Ceara, Rodrigo Cavaca, Marcos Buchecha and Thiago Abreu - that's Team Armory - along with Joe Mullings, and they were necessary to transform me into a competitive MMA athlete."   
The move to Jupiter, Florida in 2008 was the start for Barboza to join the MMA community. It was a tough beginning, as he was missing his wife, friends and family, but he was supported by the new team that not only served to prepare him for his matches, but provided the Brazilian newcomer a perfect environment for repeating in MMA what he did in Muay Thai. And having his wife, Bruna, living with him a few months after his arrival, kept Barboza tranquil enough to smash opponents and grab a 6-0 record and two belts. 
"I was never under pressure," says the man who has two belts, Renaissance MMA and Ring of Combat. "I entered and did my job. My routine was training, training and more training." 
The 5'11'' lightweight comes to the Octagon using the same aggressive style that made his name in Muay Thai and has earned him six stoppages in his MMA career. The reach advantage he'll have on Lullo is also a weapon, but he disagrees that it's the main one. 
"My range is really good compared to the majority of the lightweights and it helps me in the stand up. But I don't see a large advantage, as guys are adapting themselves to face this adversity." 
Trusting in his camp instead of over studying his foe, Barboza leaves a final message for fight fans. 
"I ask the fans to come before the main card, because they'll see a guy determined to display the best. And it doesn't matter if it is a preliminary or not, UFC is always great, so whoever is in their seats early will see a great show." 

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Foster, Munoz, Barboza Impress in UFC 123 Prelims

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Nik Lentz celebrates his win over Tyson Griffin during UFC123.AUBURN HILLS, MI, November 20 – Conventional wisdom would have dictated that the only way the UFC 123 prelim bout between Brian Foster and Matt Brown would have ended on the mat is if one of the two welterweight bangers got knocked out. But Foster flipped the script on ‘The Immortal’, moving seamlessly from striking to submission mode to force Brown to tap out in the second round at The Palace of Auburn Hills Saturday night.

Brown vs. Foster see the fight
“Man, I’m ecstatic,” said Foster. “I wanted this so bad.”

After the two circled each other for the first 30 seconds of the bout, Foster surprised his for with a quick takedown. The ground action didn’t last long, and when they both stood, it was Brown scoring with a takedown of his own. Brown was able to keep Foster pinned for a bit, at least until the Illinois product scrambled loose and landed some strikes. Brown got back in a controlling position, but Foster scrambled up, got in some hard strikes, and again took the fight to the mat. Brown worked free efficiently and briefly got the mount position before transitioning and locking up Foster’s arm. Despite what looked like a definite finisher, Foster got loose and began firing off strikes from the top position. At the bell, the two stood and stared at each other. See post-fight interview

As the two engaged to begin the second round, back to back low kicks from Brown momentarily stopped the action. Both fighters kept firing kicks once the fight resumed, and Foster caught one of Brown’s and slammed him hard to the mat. Taking advantage of this change in fortune, Foster landed some more ground strikes before suddenly moving in and locking up a guillotine choke. The end came moments later, as Brown tapped out at the 2:11 mark.

With the win, Foster improves to 17-5; Brown falls to 13-10.

Simpson vs. Munoz see the fight
Longtime college wrestling buddies Mark Munoz and Aaron Simpson certainly didn’t fight like friends in their middleweight bout, trading vicious punches and equally impressive ground techniques over an entertaining 15 minute battle won by Munoz via a close, but unanimous decision. See post-fight interview

Scores were 29-28 across the board for Munoz, who improves to 9-2; Simpson falls to 7-2.

Both Munoz and Simpson delivered high level action in the first round, whether it was standup exchanges, close quarters fighting or their bread and butter wrestling attacks.

There was more of the same in the second stanza, much to the delight of the crowd, and as the round progressed, it looked like Munoz’ punches had a little more steam on them. After a trip to the mat, Munoz emerged with a cut on his forehead, and to add insult to injury, he caught a low kick in an ensuing standup exchange. After a break in the action, Munoz fired off thudding kicks to the body and head, but Simpson amazingly took all of them without blinking. After a takedown by Simpson and an ensuing standup, the two locked up against the fence, with Simpson getting a low knee that brought another momentary halt to the bout. Yet after resuming, it was back to work, and as the round ended, it was clear that both were willing to leave it all in the Octagon in search of victory.

The third began with some fast-paced wrestling on the mat, enhanced by Munoz’ thudding ground strikes. After the two rose, they exchanged strikes with Simpson claiming a poke in the eye and a brief respite thanks to referee Mark Fennell. Upon resuming, Munoz attacked and closed the distance, pinning Simpson to the fence until Fennell broke them. Munoz didn’t let up, chasing Simpson and letting loose with whatever strikes were at his disposal. Simpson looked for two takedown in response, but was turned away by Munoz, who wanted to keep it standing. With a little over a minute left, Munoz lost his balance and fell, but Simpson was unable to capitalize and they stood again, battling it out at close range and going toe to toe for the final ten seconds of the bout.

Parisyan vs. Hallman
Veteran Dennis Hallman continued his resurgence, stopping returning contender Karo Parisyan in the first round of their welterweight bout. See post-fight interview

An early stalemate against the fence brought in referee Dan Miragliotta to re-start the action. That was the break Hallman needed, as he drilled Parisyan with a right hand that dropped ‘The Heat’. Still stunned, Parisyan wasn’t able to recover immediately, and a series of unanswered strikes from Hallman prompted Miragliotta to call a stop to the bout at the 1:47 mark.

With the win, Hallman – who is coming off an August win over Ben Saunders – improves to 66-13-2 with 1 NC. Parisyan falls to 26-6 with 1 NC in his first UFC bout since January of 2009.

Lullo vs. Barboza
Unbeaten Brazilian newcomer Edson Barboza’s Muay Thai attack delivered as advertised in his lightweight prelim bout against late replacement Mike Lullo, as a devastating series of kicks to the leg ended matters in the third round. See post-fight interview

“I’m very happy with my performance tonight,” said Barboza. “I didn’t get to showcase all of my talents tonight, but I’m definitely a striker and I felt I was extremely effective.”

After some crisp leg kicks to open the fight, Barboza (7-0) stunned Lullo by turning a takedown attempt into a slam of his own, drawing a roar from the crowd. After standing, the crowd got even louder when Barboza did it a second time. Lullo (8-2) kept his cool, mixing a choke and some ground strikes from the bottom position, evening the playing field in the process. Eventually, Barboza broke free with 1:15 left and got back to his feet, continuing to drill Lullo in his lead left leg.

Lullo attacked Barboza at the bell and looked for the takedown, a wise choice since every kick to the leg was producing a wince from the Illinois native. After another quick barrage, the fight went back to the mat, but this time Barboza was able to stand without taking much damage, and he resumed his chopping attack. With less than two minutes left, the fighters tumbled to the mat, with Lullo pulling out all the stops in search of a submission. Barboza wasn’t biting, and after a couple more kicks to the leg, Lullo could barely stand, even resting in the wrong corner at the bell.

Gamely coming out for round three, Lullo and everyone in the house knew what was coming, and after three more kicks to his opponent’s left leg, two of which sent him to the canvas, referee Mark Fennell halted the bout 26 seconds into the final round.

Kelly vs. O'Brien
Liverpool’s Paul Kelly got back in the win column in style, stopping game Octagon debutant TJ O’Brien in the second round of an entertaining lightweight battle. See post-fight interview

“I stayed relaxed for once,” said Kelly. “I didn’t rush my shots. I’m always a million-miles-an-hour fit. I throw a thousand punches but land every one in 10. So I did a better job of picking my shots.”

There were some solid exchanges in an opening round spent predominantly on the feet, and while Kelly’s busier workrate and aggression probably won him the round, O’Brien wasn’t far behind, as he looked very comfortable in his first Octagon bout.

Kelly appeared to be getting more confident as the bout progressed though, which was no surprise after he dropped O’Brien with a left hook early in round two. But an ensuing scramble saw Kelly mounted by his foe and in a bad way, but amazingly, Kelly fought his way free and turned the tables, locking up O’Brien’s arms as he fired away with right hands to the head. Eventually, with no way to get free, O’Brien was rescued by referee Dan Miragliotta at 3:16 of the round, though the game Iowan was clearly not happy with that decision.

With the win, Kelly improves to 12-3; O’Brien falls to 16-4.

Griffin vs. Lentz see the fight
Minnesota’s Nik Lentz remained unbeaten in the Octagon, scoring an unpopular three round split decision over Tyson Griffin in the lightweight opener. See post-fight interview

Scores were 29-28 twice and 27-30 for Lentz, who is now 4-0-1 in his UFC stint.

“I personally thought I won, 29-28, but you never know with the judges,” said Lentz. “He had an awkward striking style. He was kind of swinging wildly and that’s sometimes harder to defend than a normal boxing style.”

Lentz opened the fight with a quick takedown, but it was Griffin who controlled the rest of the frame, slamming his foe twice and keeping him pinned to the fence before a late break that saw ‘The Carny’ score with some hard body kicks in the closing stages of the round.

Starting the second round strong as he used his height and reach advantage well when it came to striking, Lentz nonetheless found himself on the wrong end of Griffin’s second half takedowns, and he was unable to pull himself loose long enough to get back to his feet or mount an offensive attack.

Early in the third, it was Griffin’s striking coming to life as he dropped Lentz twice briefly before the bout wound up on the mat. After another extended session there, Lentz got to his feet and slammed Griffin, using the advantage in position to land some strikes and even lock Griffin’s arm up briefly, apparently doing enough on the scorecards to take the victory.

With the win, Lentz improves to 22-3-2; Griffin, who has now lost three in a row, falls to 14-5.

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