Edson Barboza has called it a career.<\/p>\n
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) legend suffered his second consecutive stoppage loss last night (Sat., Aug. 15, 2026), falling to Argentine prospect Esteban Ribovics to open the UFC 330<\/a> main card inside Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (watch highlights<\/a>).<\/p>\n Following the loss, an emotional Barboza officially announced his retirement, placing his UFC gloves in the center of the Octagon with his family surrounding him.<\/p>\n Barboza later spoke backstage with Megan Olivi about his decision to finally walk away from mixed martial arts.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had a big battle inside of me for a long, long time. Well, not long, long\u2014it was my fight with [Lerone] Murphy. I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t feel the same,\u2019\u201d Barboza said. \u201cPlus, I\u2019m a very competitive guy. I hate to lose. I have a hard time when I lose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI tried. I kept training hard, but I felt like my body wasn\u2019t the same anymore,\u201d he continued. \u201cI\u2019m 40, with 33 battles in the UFC. Thank God, I did good this camp. I was very healthy. But, yeah, my body isn\u2019t the same. I can\u2019t compete at a high level anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Barboza (24-15) was one of the most violent and entertaining fighters ever to grace the Octagon\u2014and he owns one of the toughest resumes of any UFC veteran.<\/p>\n The Brazilian fought everyone from Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson to Justin Gaethje (watch it<\/a>) and Anthony Pettis. Win or lose, Barboza was almost always involved in a memorable fight.<\/p>\n Barboza leaves the sport tied with Dustin Poirier for the second-most \u201cFight of the Night<\/a>\u201d bonuses in UFC history. He also produced multiple \u201cKnockout of the Year<\/a>\u201d contenders and headlined five UFC events during his incredible 15-year run with the promotion.<\/p>\n Simply put, Edson Barboza was one of those fighters who made you stop whatever you were doing and stare at the television whenever he stepped inside the Octagon.<\/p>\n Congratulations on a legendary career, thanks for the memories, and enjoy retirement.<\/p>\n