Although he played coy leading up to UFC 330, Edson Barboza knew this past Saturday's fight against Esteban Ribovics would be his final time stepping into the octagon.
Barboza (24-15 MMA, 18-15 UFC), a longtime lightweight and featherweight contender who made his promotional debut in November 2010, saw his storied career come to an end after a second-round TKO loss to Esteban Ribovics in Philadelphia. It was an emotional scene for the Brazilian, who shed tears on his way to the octagon then laid his gloves down inside the cage to a standing ovation.
"I knew (it was my final fight)," Barboza told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. "I was talking to my wife, and especially my wife and my kids, the only person I talked about with, 'I think it's over.' It's
my wife and my kid. I tried to say, 'No, it's not the end' to keep my focus. But I know. Inside, I know it's going to be the end. It didn't matter the result. If I won, I was gong to retire. If I lost, I'm going to retire because I feel I am not the same guy anymore physically."
Barboza, 40, said the idea of retirement started to crystallize in his May 2024 main event defeat to Lerone Murphy. He sustained an eye injury in the fight that has compromised his vision ever since. There was debate that he would hang up the gloves then, but he fought on for more than two years and three fights, all of which he lost while competing with a disadvantage.
"I realized in my fight against Lerone Murphy, in the main event, I had a really bad injury in my eye," Barboza said. "I almost lost my vision in my right eye. Most people have no idea about that. I can't see out of this side. That's the first time I really started thinking, 'Oh my God, this sport is hard and dangerous.' I started thinking about, 'OK, maybe it's time to stop.' Imagine if I lost my vision? I started to think about it and talk to my wife and she said, 'Stop right now. I don't care.' I said, 'No, let me try a couple more fights and see how I feel.'
"That's the beginning of when I started thinking about my retirement is my fight against Murphy, which was a main event. It was crazy because I came from a couple main events to thinking about stopping. I don't see nothing that comes from this side. I really don't see. Then my body, I feel like I'm not the same. My last three fights were perfect for me. I saw the fights and was like, 'This is a perfect fight.' Then I feel my mind is there. I know everything I have to do, but my body doesn't follow. I said, 'Man, I think this is the end.'"
Credit to Herb Dean
Barboza said he relished every moment of UFC 330, from the fight week interviews to the weight cut to trading punches one last time inside the cage. He didn't have many moments of success against Ribovics, and Barboza said he was grateful to referee Herb Dean for waving off the fight before he took a blow that knocked him out cold, because he was then allowed to take joy in his retirement moment alongside his family and team.
"One hundred percent (Dean did a great job)," Barboza said. "When he stopped the fight, I came to him and said, 'Bro, thank you.' Because I was there, but I'm not there. I know I can't keep fighting like that. But at the same time if the guy caught me with one more hard shot, I would be in big trouble. Like, come on. My last fight, I don't want to be in the hospital. I thanked him for that and for stopping the fight.
"It's not about the win or loss. I stepped in there to get the win, but it's the perfect moment. It's the perfect time. Everything was perfect. I know God is always there for me, and he does the right thing."
The aftermath of retirement
Barboza said that, since Saturday, he received a phone call from UFC executive Hunter Campbell thanking him for his efforts. UFC CEO Dana White praised him at the post-fight press conference, and longtime matchmaker Sean Shelby also sent him a text message expressing gratitude for his long octagon tenure.
During the course of his career, Barboza earned 13 post-fight bonuses, including 10 Fight of the Night honors, which are tied for second-most in company history behind Justin Gaethje's 11. With 33 octagon appearances on his resume, including 18 wins and six main events, Barboza gave his heart and soul to the UFC for nearly 16 years and owns arguably one of the greatest highlights in history with his spinning wheel kick knockout of Terry Etim at UFC 142.
After such a decorated career, there would be a hope and expectation that Barboza is set up well for life beyond fighting. He confirmed that to be the case and said he credits his wife and the team around him to make sure he made the right financial decisions where he won't need to fight again. Barboza explicitly told all outside promoters not to call his manager to offer him any opportunities.
"One hundred percent (I am set financially)," Barboza said. "Thank God I did the right choices in my life and my wife, she always helped me through everything to think about the future. To be honest, I did not think back in the day that I would stay in the UFC for 16 years. Fighters don't do this for a long time. I needed to invest my money to think about the future. I have kids. I did the right choices in this part of my life about investments. But I'm still 40. I'm still young and very excited about the future. I have a lot of things to do in the future. Thank God I did the right choices on the financial side."
What does the future hold for Edson Barboza?
Although he has no intention of fighting again, Barboza won't make a complete exit from the fight game. Barboza's next chapter will revolve around passing his years of knowledge to the next generation of fighters as he said he will soon transition to the role of coach, mentor and cornerman.
"I've been training since I was 8 years old," Barboza said. "I don't think it's fair to myself, to my fans or other fighters to hold this for myself. I learned against the best coaches in the world and can't hold this to myself. I need to share with other people. I really want to share everything that I know and everything that I see about the striking game of MMA. I'm very excited for the future because I'm going to share with the people. I want to be a coach."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Edson Barboza details grim reason for UFC retirement: 'I almost lost my vision'
