Background Barboza comes from
Nova Friburgo,
Rio de Janeiro. He was born prematurely at 28 weeks and given a 50/50 chance of surviving past infancy. At the age of 8, he began practicing and competing in Muay Thai. Barboza's first title defense was originally scheduled for Ring of Combat 31, against Mikhail Malyutin, but, due to his signing with the UFC, he was replaced by
Luiz Azeredo.
Ultimate Fighting Championship 2010 Barboza was expected to make his UFC debut against
Darren Elkins on November 20, 2010, at
UFC 123. However, Elkins was forced from the card with an injury and replaced by newcomer Mike Lullo. Shortly into the third round, Barboza defeated Lullo by TKO due to leg kicks (for the first time in UFC history).
2011 Barboza faced
Anthony Njokuani on March 19, 2011, at
UFC 128, winning by unanimous decision. Both fighters earned
Fight of the Night honors. Barboza defeated
Ross Pearson at
UFC 134 via split decision. Both fighters earned
Fight of the Night bonus honors.
2012 Barboza faced
Terry Etim on January 14, 2012, at
UFC 142. He defeated Etim by KO in the third round, becoming the first fighter in UFC history to finish an opponent via wheel kick. The win earned Barboza his first
Knockout of the Night and
Fight of the Night bonus awards Barboza was expected to face
Evan Dunham on May 26, 2012, at
UFC 146, but Dunham dropped out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by returning veteran
Jamie Varner. Barboza suffered his first professional MMA loss via Knockout in the first round.
2013 Barboza was expected to face
Justin Salas on January 19, 2013, at
UFC on FX 7. However, Salas was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer
Lucas Martins. Barboza defeated Martins via TKO at 2:38 of the first round. Barboza was scheduled to face
John Makdessi on July 6, 2013, at
UFC 162, but an injury forced Makdessi off the card and he was replaced by
Rafaello Oliveira. Barboza won the fight by TKO due to leg kicks in the second round. Barboza faced
Danny Castillo on December 14, 2013, at
UFC on Fox 9. After a dominant first round by Castillo, in which he nearly finished Barboza via strikes and then with a submission attempt, Barboza rallied back and won by majority decision. Both fighters earned
Fight of the Night honors.
2014 Barboza faced
Donald Cerrone on April 19, 2014, at
UFC on Fox 11. Despite finding early success with his striking, Barboza was knocked down by a jab and lost via submission at 3:15 of the first round. Barboza faced
Evan Dunham on July 16, 2014, at
UFC Fight Night 45. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Barboza faced
Bobby Green on November 22, 2014, at
UFC Fight Night 57. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
2015 Barboza faced
Michael Johnson on February 22, 2015, at
UFC Fight Night 61. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Barboza was expected to face
Myles Jury on July 25, 2015, at
UFC on Fox 16, replacing an injured
Anthony Pettis. However, Jury himself had to pull out due to injury and was subsequently replaced by undefeated
Paul Felder. Barboza won the fight via unanimous decision and earned his fifth
Fight of the Night bonus award. UFC President
Dana White gave Barboza and Felder high praise afterwards, calling the fight "incredible." Barboza faced
Tony Ferguson on December 11, 2015, at
The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale, replacing an injured
Khabib Nurmagomedov. After a back-and-forth first round that saw Ferguson docked one point due to an illegal upkick, Barboza lost the fight via submission in the second round. Both fighters earned
Fight of the Night honors.
2016 After the loss to Ferguson, Barboza decided to move to New Jersey to train at Mark Henry's and Ricardo Almeida's MMA team. Barboza faced
Anthony Pettis on April 23, 2016, at
UFC 197. He won via unanimous decision. Barboza faced
Gilbert Melendez on July 23, 2016, at
UFC on Fox 20. He won via unanimous decision.
2017 Barboza faced
Beneil Dariush on March 11, 2017, at
UFC Fight Night 106. He won the fight via knockout due to a flying knee in the second round. Subsequently, he earned his first
Performance of the Night bonus award. Barboza faced
Khabib Nurmagomedov on December 30, 2017, at
UFC 219. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
2018 Barboza faced
Kevin Lee on April 21, 2018, at
UFC Fight Night 128. At the weigh-ins, Lee weighed 157 pounds, one pound over the lightweight non-title fight upper limit of 156 pounds. Subsequently, the bout proceeded at catchweight, and Lee forfeited 20% of his purse to Barboza. Barboza managed to connect with a spinning back kick and hurt Lee, but went onto lose via TKO due to doctor stoppage in round five. After losing two consecutive fights, Barboza decided to return to Florida and American Top Team. Barboza faced
Dan Hooker on December 15, 2018, at
UFC on Fox 31. He won the fight via TKO in round three.
2019 Barboza faced
Justin Gaethje on March 30, 2019, at
UFC on ESPN 2. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. This fight earned him the
Fight of the Night award. Barboza faced
Paul Felder in a rematch on September 7, 2019, at
UFC 242. He lost the fight by a controversial split decision. 13 out of 16 MMA media outlets scored the bout in favor of Barboza, and subsequently the decision was appealed to be overturned. UFC, working in lieu of an athletic commission, denied the appeal.
2020 On December 31, 2019, Barboza announced his intent to move down to the featherweight division. He was expected to face
Josh Emmett in a featherweight bout on May 2, 2020, at
UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Weidman. However, on April 9, Dana White announced that the event had been postponed. Instead Barboza faced
Dan Ige on May 16, 2020, at
UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris. He lost the bout by another controversial split decision. 16 out of 18 MMA media outlets scored the bout in favor of Barboza. Barboza was expected to face
Sodiq Yusuff on October 11, 2020, at
UFC Fight Night 179. However, Yusuff pulled out of the fight on September 22 for undisclosed reasons, and was replaced by
Makwan Amirkhani. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
2021 On February 25, 2021 news surfaced that Barboza had signed a new multi-fight contract with the organization albeit having one fight left on his prevailing contract. In May, Barboza revealed that the contract was signed for six fights. Barboza faced
Shane Burgos on May 15, 2021, at
UFC 262. He won the fight via knockout in the third round after Burgos experienced a delayed reaction to being knocked out with a right cross. This fight earned Barboza the $75,000
Fight of the Night bonus award. Barboza faced
Giga Chikadze on August 28, 2021, at
UFC on ESPN 30. After a back-and-forth affair, Barboza lost the fight via TKO in round three.
2022 Barboza faced
Bryce Mitchell on March 5, 2022, at
UFC 272. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Barboza was scheduled to face
Ilia Topuria on October 29, 2022, at
UFC Fight Night 213. However, Barboza withdrew in late September due to a knee injury
2023 Barboza faced
Billy Quarantillo on April 15, 2023, at
UFC on ESPN 44. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him his second
Performance of the Night award. Barboza faced
Sodiq Yusuff on October 14, 2023, at
UFC Fight Night 230. After nearly being finished with punches in the first round, Barboza rallied and won the fight by unanimous decision. This performance earned him his ninth
Fight of the Night award.
2024 Barboza faced
Lerone Murphy on May 18, 2024, at
UFC Fight Night 241. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. This performance earned him his tenth
Fight of the Night award.
2025 Barboza was scheduled to face
Steve Garcia on February 22, 2025, at
UFC Fight Night 252. However, Barboza withdrew from the fight due to an injury and the fight was scrapped. Barboza faced
Drakkar Klose in a lightweight bout on August 16, 2025 at
UFC 319. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Barboza faced
Jalin Turner on December 6, 2025 at
UFC 323. He lost the fight by technical knockout in the first round. ==Submission grappling career==