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Edson Barboza recently put on a performance of the year contender against Shane Burgos at UFC 262. The two featherweights had a back and forth war, with neither man showing a willingness to give up an inch of the octagon.
However, Burgos was almost too happy to trade at times, and was repeatedly countered by Barboza. The strikes took their toll as the Brazilian landed a clean jab straight combination in the third round. Burgos initially looked unfazed. But after an incredibly delayed response, he stumbled back into the cage and slipped from consciousness.
Barboza Didn't Know What Happened
Burgos' response was so delayed that even Barboza was unsure as to what happened. In a recent interview on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show, Barboza discussed the experience of seeing his opponent fall unconscious after initially appearing to shrug a heavy right hand.
He stated that:
"It's crazy becasue like most guys there, I didn't see it. I asked myself what happened. What happened? Because I connected good shots to him. Really clean shots. And he's still there.. I start to see his leg shake a little bit. He's going down in front. I was like, ok let's go finish the fight because I met with the judge saying don't stop hitting him, let me stop (you)."
Barboza even went so far as to state that he wasn't even aware of why Burgos fell down. He says that after the referee called the fight off, he immediately went to his coach to find out what had actually taken place.
He stated the following:
"I connected two shots... I go straight to my coach and say, what happened? Because I really don't remember what shot I connected to him to make him go down like that. That's crazy."
A Knockout Veteran
As unique a KO as it was, Barboza has seen it happen before, albeit never to one of his own opponents. However, he has never seen as long a delay as what happened with Burgos. He said that:
"That's never happened with me. But I see it, but not that long. Connect the shot, a couple of seconds, two, three seconds, then go down. I think it's six seconds to connect and go down. That's six seconds delay."
The Future for Barboza
Barboza now believes he deserves a shot at a top-five opponent. He has gone on record to state that a fight against former featherweight champion Max Holloway is his desired next step in the 145lb division.
