Is Edson Barboza Hall of Fame-worthy?

Irrespective of how his profession goes from right here, Edson Barboza has already entrenched his place in UFC lore. He’s achieved loads of nice issues all through his profession, however the epic comeback to defeat Sodiq Yusuff by unanimous decision of their Struggle of the Evening principal occasion could be the cherry on high.

One of many affordable criticisms of Barboza (24-11 MMA, 18-11 UFC) all through his promotional tenure has been that he has not responded tremendously to adversity. He’s an unimaginable hammer, however when the time involves be the nail, he present a willingness to simply accept it. That wasn’t the case on this evening, as a result of he refused to be taken out within the first spherical, and the best way the rest of the combat performed out led to one of many extra memorable 25-minute contests of the yr.

Barboza is without doubt one of the all-time nice motion fighters to ever grace the octagon. The exhausting details show that assertion, as a result of he now has the most Fight of the Night bonuses of any fighter in firm historical past at 9. His reel of spotlight knockouts additionally stacks up with anybody on the market, which is all proof to help the case of the Brazilian being a particular fighter.

At 37, I don’t assume anybody is anticipating Barboza to make a professional title run. Might he beat some high 10 or high seven featherweights on the fitting evening? Most definitely. However every little thing he does from this level ahead is actually gravy, as a result of we all know who he’s after 29 octagon appearances courting again to his November 2010 debut.

The query is, how ought to a fighter like Barboza be appreciated when it’s all stated and achieved and he stops preventing? The UFC Corridor of Fame dialogue got here up from some pundits within the aftermath of this combat, and it’s definitely an intriguing dialogue of whether or not he belongs.

In my view, the UFC dismantled any normal for its Corridor of Fame when it selected to present a spot to Donald Cerrone. To not say “Cowboy” wasn’t worthy of his induction, but when there was a sure barrier for entry, Cerrone modified it. To not say that’s not OK, however Barboza in all probability matches in the identical vein of a Jim Miller within the sense that they’ve achieved rather a lot, maintain sure important information and are UFC staples, however don’t have the championship pedigree.

Is there a world the place Barboza might someday discover himself within the UFC Corridor of Fame? I say sure. Nonetheless, there’s loads of caveats. There’s a laundry record of people that ought to be in there earlier than him, so if the UFC continues its present trajectory of inducting certainly one of two fighters for every wing of its Corridor of Fame per yr, it ought to be an extended whereas earlier than Barboza will get in. But when issues change over time and every yearly class expands to extra individuals, I might Barboza sneaking in not too lengthy after he lastly decides to hold it up – particularly when there’s nonetheless time to additional improve his resume.

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