I genuinely think he is one of the most talented fighters in MMA. He has is all in terms of skill plus brutal leg kicks that can finish fights.
Can you see him being champ?
I think he can hang with anyone in the division but his chin will always stop him from having a consistent run
As far as his jiu-jitsu/wrestling will take him. If he can keep improving on those 2 aspects, it will definitely assist him in the division.
Sadly his chin will hold him back big time. If he had a hard chin like say, Cowboy, he could eventually be a champion I think, depending on how his defensive wrestling evolves.
One of my favorite fighters! Hes said he's working hard on his defense and wrestling. So its good to hear he's recognizing his weaknesses and doing something about it
He can go far, but he has a lot of development to go through before then. He can strike with anyone in the division but he needs to work on his defense, clearly. He needs to figure out a way to defend takedowns without putting his hands down because he's been dropped like that on more than one occasion.
I don't think his problem is his chin so much as how he reacts to getting hit. People point to the Cerrone fight as him having a bad chin, and yeah he got dropped by a jab, but if you look closely he got hit while he was blinking. The punches that hurt you the most are the ones you don't see coming.
Castillo put a beating on him in the first round of their fight, but he couldn't finish Barboza despite this.
He almost iced donald.
very close to winning that one
I'm pumped for his fight against Bobby Green. I think his striking style matches up well with Bobby since Bobby isn't really known for having heavy hands. As long as Barboza starts early with the leg kicks and can avoid the TD, that fight is his and will put him in the top 10.
He doesnt have great hands, I thought Ross Pearson beat him. Brutal kicks but his boxing defence will always hold him back.
Like almost all Brazilians in MMA: spectacularly proficient in 1-2 areas (striking or BJJ), neglects wrestling, makes career as a great gatekeeper.
Overrated. Possibly the most overrated LW to exist. Hands are decent. Kicks are heavy but not with great quantity. No signs of improvement.
Never will be top 10. Just being brutally honest.
Was handling cowboy on the feet until he got tapped on the chin with that jab. I think it remains to be seen if his chin really I that weak or if it was just a freak occurrence. If he shows that he can take a solid shot I feel like he's definitely in the top ten.