The best and worst from UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje

#1 Worst: Barboza needs time off for his own health

Edson Barboza should step away from the Octagon for a while - for his own health

Sure, there’s no shame in losing to Justin Gaethje, and realistically there’s no shame in being KO’d by him either – the guy hits like a ton of bricks and arguably has the most power in the whole of the 155lbs division – but last night’s loss was a little more worrying for Edson Barboza in my opinion.

Not only did it mark the Brazilian’s third loss in his last four fights, but it was also yet another fight that saw him absorb terrible punishment.

December 2017 saw him completely beaten down by Khabib Nurmagomedov; it was the kind of beating that could change a career, and when he returned and took a similar beatdown at the hands of Kevin Lee, alarm bells should’ve been ringing.

Barboza did defeat an overmatched Dan Hooker in December 2018, but that win didn’t come without issues and last night Gaethje had him rattled with punches early on and then became the first man to completely knock him out.

Barboza is 33 years old now – belying that ‘Junior’ nickname – and he’s been fighting professionally for a decade. It’s not a stretch to say that he might be coming towards the end of his prime now – if he’s not past it already – but while he could definitely squeeze some more out of his career, he needs to step away for a while to recover in order to do so.

Realistically, he should’ve done that after the Khabib loss, and had he done that he may be more durable than he appears to be now.

MMA is a sport that chews up its athletes before spitting them out, and Barboza looks like he could be the next victim of that. It’s time for him to take some extended leave – for his own good.