Athletes
Marcio Barbosa | Keep An Eye On 'Ticotô'
Brazilian Featherweight Let’s His Loud Performances Speak For Him
Marcio Barbosa profiles as someone that could make a meteoric rise in the featherweight division with the right matchups and opportunities as the 28-year-old Brazilian has legitimate fight-changing, fight-ending power.
Since suffering a loss to fellow UFC featherweight Gabriel Santos in his penultimate regional card appearance before landing in the Octagon, Barbosa has earned five straight first-round finishes, including a late first-round stoppage over Damon Wilson last season on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn his contract. But it was his debut outing in Winnipeg against Dennis Buzukja that truly elevated his profile and made his string of finishes feel more like a function of what he brings to the table than one tethered to the competition he faced.
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The sound of the shot landing inside Canada Life Centre was the equivalent of a hometown slugger connecting on a no-doubt homerun in a pivotal situation in front of a partisan crowd: a solitary CRACK breaks the silence before thousands of people cheer in harmony, blending together to create a wave of noise that drowns everything else out.
Marcio Barbosa Gets Statement KO In UFC Debut | UFC Winnipeg
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Marcio Barbosa Gets Statement KO In UFC Debut | UFC Winnipeg
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“It was a great experience; it was something that my master and I had been dreaming about for a long time, so being there was a really good experience,” Barbosa said. “It’s something we’ve been striving for and working towards for so long that it was really good being there.
“Having the crowd there doesn’t really change much for me,” he added. “Something my master always tells me is to not focus on all the other stuff; what we’re really doing is going in there to get a win. Having the people there really doesn’t affect me.”
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It’s a good thing large crowds don’t affect the compact dynamo because if things continue going the way they have of late, Barbosa is going to frequently find himself competing in front of considerable audiences and eliciting the kind of responses that only tend to accompany highlight reel knockouts that people are left talking about days, weeks, and months later.
So what has clicked for the Contender Series grad since that matchup with Santos?
“Nothing really specific,” he said. “After that loss, we did change a few things and look at winning, so we’re able to adapt to winning and been able to do that in the past few fights; working hard to get in there and get a win.”
The same way nothing specific changed following the loss to Santos to kickstart his current run of success heading into a matchup with Ryan Kuse on August 22, Barbosa acknowledged that life remains largely the same since his debut win over Buzukja.
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“I didn’t really change; I’m the same “Ticotô” as always,” began Barbosa, whose nickname has no real translatable meaning but instead was something his older brother called him when they were younger and has stuck ever since. “We’re going to the same places, doing the same things; I’m always with my master… What changes is maybe having a little bit more money and being able to look at a couple different things, but as a person — who I am, my character — that hasn’t changed and it won’t change.
“It (does) makes me feel special to know that I’m somebody that people are looking forward to watching fight, somebody they’re gonna tune in to watch fight,” he added. “Right now, I’m just anxious and looking forward to Saturday; I’m ready to fight.”
The opportunity to return to action was in jeopardy for a brief period of time as Barbosa’s original opponent, Danny Silva, was forced to withdraw due to a serious medical issue Ultimately, the UFC landed on Kuse, a 32-year-old veteran who holds a 9-2 record in MMA and trains out of The Goat Shed in Miami alongside Buzukja.
“You can’t overlook, you can’t play down an opponent, so it’s a fight, but I’m gonna go in there and do what I always do, which is look for the win,” offered the humble Brazilian. “I’m gonna do what I train to do. You’ll see.”
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Should that come to pass, don’t expect elaborate post-fight speeches or a list of demands from Barbosa. Instead, he’ll give all the glory to God and be ready to face whomever the UFC feels is the right opponent for him next time out.
“I’m not really someone to call out guys, pick opponents or anything, so really, whoever the UFC wants to get me back in there (with), I’m gonna say, ‘Yes,’ just as I have before.”
Something tells me that if he continues dispatching foes with brutal precision and quickness, finding someone to fight is going to continue to get more difficult after each successive fight.
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