The Film Room: Edson Barboza
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Fan favorite Edson Barboza will return to the Octagon to rematch the always-exciting Paul Felder in the UFC 242 co-main event on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates. Barboza finds himself in a slump of sorts -- he has gone 1-3 across his last four appearances -- but another win over Felder would keep him in the Top 10 and move him one step closer to contention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division.
Barboza steps into the spotlight in this edition of The Film
Room.
Barboza is also known for his spinning attacks, most notably the wheel kick with which he knocked out Terry Etim back in 2012. Similar to his standard leg and body kicks, Barboza can throw these spin kicks with no setup and does not need to fully commit to the kicks to land them. Instead of stepping across himself to spin, he often spins on his post leg like a ballerina, which makes the kick even harder to see coming and again allows him to recover his stance quickly. This is a tactic Valentina Shevchenko has perfected, making her the best spinning attacker in women’s MMA. Barboza might benefit from using some of the clever techniques kickboxer Andy Hug utilized in the 1990s. Hug would often attack the rear leg instead of the lead, and he was such a feared spin kicker that he could use a spin as a feint. He also used a brilliant spinning heel kick to the legs that has been dubbed the Hug Tornado. All of these techniques would suit Barboza well, especially with his incredible speed and ability to spin with no setup.
On the lead, Barboza’s game is pretty simple: Jab opponents until they are off balance and then fire off a kick to the legs or body. When he is the leading attacker, most of his strikes are kicks, so his boxing is done on the counter. One of the best ways to take away opponents’ kicks is to simply pressure through them and not give them enough room to set their feet. When opponents attempt to do this to Barboza, he will adopt a slick counter boxing game. Early in his career, if the kicks were not landing, Barboza was in trouble. However, he has developed his countering game and can still win fights when he is not the aggressor and his kicks are falling short. Barboza can also fire off kicks with much less distance than most, so opponents always have to be wary of them.
Barboza is an incredibly talented striker, but his appalling lack of defense has always held him back. He may be the easiest man in MMA to trap against the cage, and his ability to fight while moving backward has never improved over his nine years with the UFC. Aggressive fighters have always been his kryptonite, and at 33 years old, no one should expect him to change now.
This is the second fight between Barboza and Felder, but the rematch could be completely different from their initial encounter. The first fight saw Barboza doing what he has always done. He circled on the outside and landed kicks with the occasional exchange in the pocket. However, Felder seemed off and fought more patiently than usual. Felder is smart enough to not play into Barboza’s game and strike from the outside again. It will be interesting to see if he pushes the pace for all three rounds like he has recently. Both men spammed spinning attacks like it was a video game in the first fight, and it is probably in their best interests to tone those down. Barboza threw what looked like the Hug Tornado but it ended up being a low blow.
Fan favorite Edson Barboza will return to the Octagon to rematch the always-exciting Paul Felder in the UFC 242 co-main event on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates. Barboza finds himself in a slump of sorts -- he has gone 1-3 across his last four appearances -- but another win over Felder would keep him in the Top 10 and move him one step closer to contention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division.
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Opponents have exposed Barboza’s style lately, but we must not
forget that he is perhaps the most feared kicker in MMA history.
His entire game relies on punting the opponent’s legs and ripping
the body with kicks, which can be good and bad. His remarkable
kicking speed and ability to throw kicks with little setup allows
him to land them anytime there is a break in the action. Barboza is
also one of the few people to finish a fight with leg kicks, and he
has done so on three occasions. Something to notice about his kicks
is how he rarely steps into them and the minimum amount of rotation
needed on the lead leg to land the kicks with incredible speed and
power. Most fighters must step across themselves and turn over
their hips while rotating the post leg to land kicks with this kind
of speed, but Barboza can simply chamber the kicks from any
position and land them with minimal movement, which allows him to
recover his stance quickly. His focus on low kicks throughout a
fight slows down the opponent, which helps him land more of his
kicks and aids him on the defensive end since he struggles with
pressure.
Barboza is also known for his spinning attacks, most notably the wheel kick with which he knocked out Terry Etim back in 2012. Similar to his standard leg and body kicks, Barboza can throw these spin kicks with no setup and does not need to fully commit to the kicks to land them. Instead of stepping across himself to spin, he often spins on his post leg like a ballerina, which makes the kick even harder to see coming and again allows him to recover his stance quickly. This is a tactic Valentina Shevchenko has perfected, making her the best spinning attacker in women’s MMA. Barboza might benefit from using some of the clever techniques kickboxer Andy Hug utilized in the 1990s. Hug would often attack the rear leg instead of the lead, and he was such a feared spin kicker that he could use a spin as a feint. He also used a brilliant spinning heel kick to the legs that has been dubbed the Hug Tornado. All of these techniques would suit Barboza well, especially with his incredible speed and ability to spin with no setup.
On the lead, Barboza’s game is pretty simple: Jab opponents until they are off balance and then fire off a kick to the legs or body. When he is the leading attacker, most of his strikes are kicks, so his boxing is done on the counter. One of the best ways to take away opponents’ kicks is to simply pressure through them and not give them enough room to set their feet. When opponents attempt to do this to Barboza, he will adopt a slick counter boxing game. Early in his career, if the kicks were not landing, Barboza was in trouble. However, he has developed his countering game and can still win fights when he is not the aggressor and his kicks are falling short. Barboza can also fire off kicks with much less distance than most, so opponents always have to be wary of them.
Barboza is an incredibly talented striker, but his appalling lack of defense has always held him back. He may be the easiest man in MMA to trap against the cage, and his ability to fight while moving backward has never improved over his nine years with the UFC. Aggressive fighters have always been his kryptonite, and at 33 years old, no one should expect him to change now.
This is the second fight between Barboza and Felder, but the rematch could be completely different from their initial encounter. The first fight saw Barboza doing what he has always done. He circled on the outside and landed kicks with the occasional exchange in the pocket. However, Felder seemed off and fought more patiently than usual. Felder is smart enough to not play into Barboza’s game and strike from the outside again. It will be interesting to see if he pushes the pace for all three rounds like he has recently. Both men spammed spinning attacks like it was a video game in the first fight, and it is probably in their best interests to tone those down. Barboza threw what looked like the Hug Tornado but it ended up being a low blow.
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