Combate recently revealed the fighter is dropping from lightweight to featherweight, which is an idea endorsed by his manager in Alex Davis.
“The move to 145, provided he feels good, opens a lot of opportunity for him,” Davis told MMA Junkie. “I’m really more of a fan of seeing guys go up in weight than down. I’ve been more successful like that, for example with Thiago Santos. But in Edson’s case, he actually has a harder time staying heavy than he does dropping weight. I think that the way he sits in the 155 division, it makes sense for him to try 145. I think that after what (Jose) Aldo did, I personally did not think Aldo was going to look good at all, but we were all proved wrong. I think that Edson deserves the opportunity to try 145. I think there’s a lot of great fights there for him. The whole team, the coaches think he’s going to look fine. And he’s really, really excited.”
Barboza currently holds a 14-8-0 record under the UFC banner and is ranked #10 in the UFC Lightweight Division.
Davis says one great reason that Barboza decided to drop to featherweight is to have a fresh start.
“If you look at the 155 division and the fights that are there for him, he’s fought everybody,” Davis said. “For his name and his career and his legacy, the drop to 145 gives an opportunity for a fresh start. We like all the fights in that division. We’re not going to be picking opponents. Whoever they tell us, we’re going to go against them.”
There is no word at this time as to when Barboza will make his featherweight debut or whom that will come against.
