5 Things You Might Not Know About Edson Barboza

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Edson Barboza (20-6) is a lightweight pugilist signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In his next appearance, the Brazilian will headline opposite Justin Gaethje at UFC on ESPN 2 taking place in Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Saturday.

As we approach the eagerly awaited bout, here are five things you might not know about the American Top Team representative.

He had a challenging start to life.

Born several months premature, it was assumed that the severely undersized Barboza would probably die. He was initially given a 50 percent chance of surviving infancy, but would eventually persevere.

In one interview, the Brazilian reflected on his start to life. “I was very small… I think I stayed in the hospital for three or four months.”

He often wins by KO/TKO.

Barboza is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt and has spent considerable time training with revered BJJ coaches such as Ricardo Almeida and Renzo Gracie.

However, he prefers to use his formidable striking to get the job done in the cage. Of his 20 career victories to date, 12 (60 percent) have come by way of KO/TKO. The Brazilian’s usual modus operandi is to keep the action on the feet, where he looks for openings to attack with quickfire punch and kick combinations.

His versatile striking game has proven overwhelming for many of his adversaries. Barboza’s stellar list of victims who have been dispatched by KO/TKO include Evan Dunham, Beneil Dariush and most recently, Dan Hooker.

He pulled off one of the most spectacular knockouts ever witnessed in the Octagon.

In January 2012, Barboza fought Britain’s Terry Etim at UFC 142. A little over two minutes into the third stanza, the Brazilian threw a spinning right wheel kick that landed flash on the side of his adversary’s head and knocked him out cold.

It was the first time in the promotion’s history that a fight had been won via this method. The spectacular knockout was the World MMA Awards 2012 Knockout of the Year.

You can see it above.

He comes from a muay Thai background.

At the tender age of eight, Barboza commenced training in the stand-up art. At 16, the Rio de Janeiro native began what would prove to be a highly successful professional tenure in the sport.

The future mixed martial arts combatant compiled a 25-3 (22 KOs) Muay Thai record, along with a lengthy list of titles. These include winning the Brazilian national championship and three first-place finishes in the Rio de Janeiro state championship.

Today, the 33-year-old’s origins in the Thai martial art manifest themselves in a striking-based approach which utilizes low kicks to devastating effect. Barboza remains the only combatant in UFC history to have beaten multiple opponents with leg kick finishes.

He has called The States home for the last decade.

When Barboza made the transition from muay Thai to MMA in 2009, the proud Brazilian opted to move to the U.S. in order to develop the skills he felt necessary to be a success in his new venture.

Initially he joined The Armory Training Center in Jupiter, Florida. Later he would move north to New Jersey, where he aligned himself with Ricardo Almeida’s MMA team.

Last year, in the aftermath of the first two-fight skid of his career, Barboza returned to Florida and joined American Top Team. By all accounts, the fighter, his wife and young son have settled well into their new home.