UFC News: Veteran fighter moving down to the Featherweight division

As reported first by Combate and later confirmed by MMAFighting, Lightweight veteran Edson Barboza will be moving down to the Featherweight division for his next fight. The news of the move was confirmed by Barboza's manager Alex Davis.

Barboza signed a contract with the UFC in 2010 and went on to make his Octagon debut that year against Mike Lullo at UFC 123. He notched up a TKO win via leg kicks, which was the first time it had happened in the UFC.

The Brazilian has since gone on to become a mainstay in the Lightweight division, having had 22 fights in his 9-year stint in the division. Barboza has 14 wins and 8 losses in the UFC at Lightweight.

He has lost 4 of his last 5 fights with the most recent loss coming against Paul Felder at UFC 242 in September last year.

Barboza is a popular name amongst MMA purists as his all-action Muay Thai style always makes his fights entertaining to watch. He is particularly known for his vicious kicks and while he has had a fairly successful UFC career, Barboza still finds himself at #10 in the Lightweight rankings.

He took Khabib Nurmagomedov the distance in their UFC 219 fight and is responsible for some of the best highlight-reel finishes in UFC history.

The 33-year-old is now ready for a new challenge in the 145 lb division currently helmed by recently crowned Featherweight Champion, Alexander Volkanovski.