Throughout his career Edson Barboza has shown some of the most spectacular knockout capability in the UFC - here he reflects on his UFC 142 disposal of Terry Etim which won him the World MMA Awards 'Knockout of the Year' trophy.

Prior to UFC 142 Edson Barboza had already racked up an impressive 9-0 record to establish him as one of the hottest young prospects in mixed martial arts. Owning strong Muay Thai and taekwondo background, the 26-year-old was well versed in efficient kicking techniques, something several of Barboza’s opponents discovered at their expense.

His devastating power and stand-up technique had earned him three ‘Fight of the Night’s and one ‘Knockout of the Night’ awards in his previous three outings, generating a grand total of $300,000 in bonuses.

At UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro, Barboza showed off his exceptional striking skills in front of his home crowd, delivering one of the most sensational finishes in MMA history: the rare spinning wheel-kick.

The hard-hitting 155lb moneymaker came into his fourth fight in the UFC as the hometown favorite despite being matched against an equally exciting prospect, UK’s Terry Etim. Widely predicted to be the fight of the night in Brazil, these two looked so well-matched for most of the opening 12 minutes. The first two rounds – 10 minutes – witnessed some good exchanges between the two striking specialists and there was little to separate them. 

But then, in the final round, Barboza stunned the world by pulling off the first spinning wheel-kick knockout ever witnessed in the UFC. With deadly accuracy, he spun on the ball of his left foot, delivering a perfectly timed kick across Etim’s chin. The game Brit, no stranger to early finishes himself, was out cold before his stiffened body crashed to the canvas.

The kick, which had the MMA community buzzing, has become an instant classic, but not everybody was surprised by the jaw-dropping finish. Barboza explained afterwards that, for him, techniques like that are simply second nature. “That kick came naturally,” said the young Brazilian phenom. “People don’t really believe it, but I don’t train that kick too much. I do the basics, like kicking the legs and the body. That’s basically what I train.”

A former Muay Thai champion, Barboza’s years of martial arts conditioning have instilled in him a strong confidence, particularly when on his feet. The rapidly rising 155lb star spoke confidently about what his gameplan was going into the fight. “I knew that at some point in the fight I was going to hurt him... I tried, it worked, thank God. That’s fighting.” Edson is not alone in his faith of his high level skills either, as UFC commentator Joe Rogan commented immediately following his Etim KO: “It’s a very effective kick in martial arts that we just don’t see that much. Edson Barboza is one of the best at it.”

He is a fighter who's always understood what the people want to see: exciting fights and highlight-reel finishes. And, as the Florida-based Brazilian said at the time, "You can bet there is more to come.”

Postscript: Going into 2020, Barbosa has no fewer than seven 'Fight of the Night' accolades in his 20-8 record - 12 of those wins by knockout. He is currently ranked #10 in the UFC Lightweight rankings.