LAS VEGAS – Edson Barboza knows time isn’t on his side, but retirement isn’t calling just yet.
The 39-year-old Brazilian striker has bounced from lightweight to featherweight, and now back up to 155 pounds again after noticing his body began trying to tell him that cutting so much weight wasn’t good for him. Beyond his body speaking to him, Barboza (24-13 MMA, 18-13 UFC) was tired of living a life that required constant attention to the numbers on the scale.
Advertisement
“A couple of years, I was a little bit crazy,” Barboza told MMA Junkie. “I was checking my weight in the morning, checking my weight in the afternoon, checking my weight at night – it was a couple of years like that. It’s not good for my body and especially for (my mind). … Thank God I’m back to lightweight. I’m happy.”
While Barboza’s body may be telling him he can’t do things he used to, he’s not ready to call it a career just yet. He still has the competitive fire burning, and wants to keep testing his skills against other high-level fighters. However, he did make a promise to his family to retire when that fire starts to fizzle out.
“I don’t think about retirement right now, but I need to feel competitive,” Barboza said. “I think that’s one of my goals right now. I promised my wife and my mom, I’ll never step into the octagon for money. I still feel competitive, especially in the training, especially in the gym. I train more than the young kids at American Top Team. I know I’m still competitive. I still fight against the best guys in the world. That’s one reason why I keep training, try to get better, and fight, because I still love this sport.”
Barboza fights Saturday at UFC 323 (pay-per-view, ESPN2/FX/Disney+, ESPN+) against Jalin Turner (14-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC), who returns from a brief retirement. “Junior” aims to return to the win column after back-to-back losses to Lerone Murphy at featherweight and Drakkar Klose in his lightweight return earlier this year.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 323: Edson Barboza reveals retirement promise to family
