Edson Barboza made his last walk to the Ultimate octagon, but the farewell was not as the veteran imagined. At 40 years old, the Brazilian entered the action at UFC 330 , held last Saturday (15), against Esteban Ribovics . Despite showing his well-known resilience, he ended up being defeated by technical knockout before abandoning the gloves in the center of the octagon and announcing his retirement.
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With the defeat, Edson Barboza reached his 15th career loss and accumulated four consecutive defeats. Ribovics, on the other hand, achieved his 16th victory and put behind him the defeat suffered against Mateusz Gamrot in the last round.
Esteban Ribovics dominates fight and ends Edson Barboza's farewell match.
Edson Barboza entered the arena quite emotional during his walk to the octagon. However, at the start of the fight, he remained calm, while Ribovics went on the offensive with great aggression. The Brazilian relied on low kicks and even landed a spinning strike, while the Argentinian closed the distance in search of a more direct exchange of blows.
Two minutes into the fight, Edson already had a cut above his eyebrow and was clearly feeling Ribovics' blows, who refused to back down. The Brazilian attempted a low kick, but ended up hitting his opponent's elbow and opened a cut on his own shin. In the final stretch of the round, the Argentinian landed a hard sequence of blows that unbalanced the veteran, but didn't have time to finish the fight.
In the second round, Edson returned determined to prove his resilience once more, but Esteban didn't slow down. After a strong sequence of blows against the cage, Herb Dean decided to stop the fight and declared a technical knockout.
After the official announcement, the Brazilian, in tears, left his gloves in the center of the octagon and officially announced his retirement.
What a warrior. What a career. ❤️ @EdsonBarbozaJR thank you for everything!!! pic.twitter.com/rKOLhFdtEs
— UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2026
Joel Alvarez chooses to fight standing up and ends up defeated in the UFC.
Joel Alvarez ignored his strength and faced Chidi Njokuani precisely in the American's specialty. With 17 submission victories in his career, the Spaniard entered the octagon looking to put his loss to Yaroslav Amosov behind him. However, he didn't even attempt a takedown and fought all three rounds standing against the Muay Thai specialist. The choice proved costly in the judges' view.
Defeated by unanimous decision, Joel Alvarez suffered his fifth career loss, his second consecutive defeat in the UFC. Njokuani, on the other hand, achieved his 26th professional victory and ended a streak of two consecutive losses.
Check out the results of UFC 330
MAIN CARD
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Islam Makhachev defeated Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) and defended his title.
Strawweight (up to 52,1 kg): Mackenzie Dern defeated Gillian Robertson by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) and defended her title.
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Jalin Turner defeated Kauê Fernandes by knockout (punches) at 0:39 of round 1.
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Dustin Stoltzfus defeated Mansur Abdul-Malik by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:23 of round 2.
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Esteban Ribovics defeated Edson Barboza by technical knockout (punches) at 1:32 of round 2.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Chidi Njokuani defeated Joel Alvarez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Catchweight (up to 58,9 kg): Charles Johnson defeated Eduardo Chapolin by submission (twister) at 1:35 of round 3.
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Donte Johnson defeated Eric McConico by knockout (punch) at 1:38 of round 1.
Middleweight (up to 83,9 kg): Tresean Gore defeated Vicente Luque by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Light heavyweight (up to 92,9 kg): Lucas Fernando defeated Rafael Bipolar by technical knockout (knee to the body) at 1:15 of round 3.
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Neil Magny defeated Ramiz Brahimaj by technical knockout (punches) at 3:20 of round 2.
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Jeremiah Wells defeated Myktybek Orolbai by submission (choke) at 1:25 of round 3.
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