Edson Barboza is quickly pushing towards being on the top contenders in the stacked 155-pound division; the proud Brazilian fought for the second time on him home turf this time making a statement and pushing his perfect record to 10-0.
Etim looked to spoil the coming out party of the talented Muay-Thai striker coming out early using his long, lanky figure to land early with some impressive strikes but once he felt the power behind the vicious leg kicks of the Brazilian it slowed him down dramatically.
Barboza took the driver’s seat in the second round out-striking the Brit and continuing to chop wood with those leg kicks that made fight fans cringe while hitting up high with his straight right punches and deadly left hooks.
Where many fighters would slow down and go into cruise control to etch out a decision on the judges’ score cards he continued to push the pace punishing Etim before scoring an early candidate for ‘knockout of the year’ with a spinning wheel kick.
For you kick boxing fans, it was similar to the deadly kick thrown by Badr Hari on Stefan Leko many moons ago, I guess Dana better start writing that KO of the night check already.
The UFC President expressed his excitement like the rest of us on twitter:
@danawhite: Holy shit!!!!!!!! Most brutal KO I have ever seen in front of me!!!!!
Here is what Barboza had to say post-fight, Etim was unable to comment due to being transported to a local media facility.
EDSON BARBOZA:
“When you fight in Brazil, it’s unlike fighting in any other place in the world. In a fight, you try things and hope they work. Tonight, it (the kick) worked. It’s something I’ve practiced a lot and I finally was able to land it hard. I’m happy with this outcome and you can expect more of that soon.”
