The third fight of these loaded prelims featured the man that Joe Rogan once called “the best kicker in the game” – Edson Barbosa. After dropping to featherweight, the Brazilian went 4-4, prompting the move back up to lightweight.
There to welcome him was divisional stalwart Drakkar Klose. The MMA Lab product was sporting a 15-3 record coming into the fight. While he dropped his last fight to Joel Alvarez, he had won four of his last five going into this one.
The fight started off with Barboza looking to work some of those signature kicks and Klose looking to close the distance. After a minute and a half of work on the feet, Klose finally got the connection he was looking for with an overhook. He worked Barboza to the cage where they exchanged action, but not much doing on either side. The bulk of the rest of the first round was spent at range. Barboza seemed to get the better of it, but Klose came on late with a right hand and some clinch upper cuts.
Klose started the second with more aggression and find a home for more of his strikes. That included a surpising spinning heel kick, reminiscent of his opponent’s from years prior. Klose then opened up with some straight rights that seemed to have Barboza on wobbly legs aginst the cage. A clinch helped Barboza recover and reset. Later on in the round, the two would start throwing big shots. Klose once again had the more meaningful of the blows, but clinched when it seemed Barboza was at his most vulnerable, which is where the round ended.
A more tenative approach kicked off the third round. Klose againt found a home for a return right hand, but then was stalled in a clinch for a minute. The separation saw Klose continuing to find success with that right as Barboza looked for more leg kicks as he circled. They each found success, but neither really pushed a pace late.
Official Result: Drakkar Klose def. Edson Barboza by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
