Edson Barboza retires after loss to Esteban Ribovics at UFC 330 – POST Wrestling

Veteran Edson Barboza retired from MMA after his loss on Saturday to Esteban Ribovics at UFC 330.

The 40-year-old was stopped in the second round after absorbing too many strikes as referee Herb Dean stepped in and halted the fight. Barboza removed his gloves after the result was read and gave a tearful speech to the fans at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, stating he always gave his best in every fight he competed in.

Barboza was signed by the UFC in 2010 and became notorious for his devastating leg kicks, stopping Mike Lullo with kicks in his promotional debut that year.

He was the author of one of the most devastating knockouts in UFC history when he stopped Terry Etim with a spinning wheel kick at UFC 142 in Brazil and was called the best knockout of 2012.

While always among ranked lightweights, he never competed for the 155-pound title during his career. His resume included victories against Evan Dunham, Bobby Green, Paul Felder, Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez, Beneil Dariush, and Dan Hooker.

At UFC 219 in December 2017, Khabib Nurmagomedov controlled Barboza for three rounds and would fight for the vacant title in his next contest, which was the closest Barboza got to a title fight.

Barboza cut to featherweight in 2020 and went 4-4 over the next four years at the weight class. He returned to lightweight last year and ends his career with losses to Drakkar Klose, Jalin Turner, and Saturday’s fight with Ribovics.

He retires with a record of 24-15.