Preview: UFC 319 Prelims

Lightweights

Edson Barboza (24-12, 18-12 UFC) vs. Drakkar Klose (15-3-1, 9-3 UFC)

BETTING ODDS: Barboza (-142), Klose (+120)

Barboza is still at it, kicking off his 17th year as a mixed martial artist with this move back up to lightweight. Nearly all that time has been spent in the UFC, as Barboza was signed in 2010, just a year and change into his career at a time when that was far from the norm. The Brazilian proved to be worth doing so, immediately establishing himself as one of the most violent kickers in the sport, highlighted by the fact that he started 2012 with an all-timer of a wheel kick knockout against Terry Etim. However, that win over Etim set up one of the most memorable upsets of 2012 against Jamie Varner, who charged Barboza and exposed the main weakness that would go on to dog him throughout his career. Barboza is an absolute terror given time and space to work, but if an opponent can steel himself enough to walk through his offense and get Barboza moving backwards, a lot of that effectiveness goes out the window. Barboza has done well to work around those problems while being buoyed by his speed and athleticism, but that has remained the scouting report for well over a decade at this point, even during his recent half decade run at featherweight. To his credit, Barboza has continued to prove his worth as a high-level fighter as recently as 2023, obliterating a dedicated pressure fighter in Billy Quarantillo before turning back prospect Sodiq Yusuff in a main event slot. Barboza’s lone fight of 2024 was a hard-fought loss to Lerone Murphy, and after an injury scrapped a bout scheduled for February, he has surprisingly chosen to move back up to 155 pounds for a well-matched fight against Klose.

Klose has put in solid work for the UFC since he signed with the promotion in 2017, but he has never built much of a profile for various reasons. One of those reasons is Klose’s fighting style, as he has typically been at his best slowing his opponents down and embracing the grind. Klose’s first few fights in the promotion saw him become a bit of a prospect-killer, most notably sucking the fun out of a matchup against Marc Diakiese. A loss in 2020 to Beneil Dariush seemed like it might be a bit of a breakout for Klose, as it broke down into an entertaining brawl that helped him shake some of his negative reputation. However, he never got much of a chance to capitalize on that momentum. Klose’s next fight was scrapped due to a bizarre incident in which Jeremy Stephens shoved him during a weigh-in and gave him whiplash, keeping him out of action for over two years once all was said and done. Some more injury issues have slowed down Klose’s schedule since his return, though he at least gained some notice with a brutal slam knockout of Joe Solecki late in 2023. Still, he never quite got out of the gates in his last loss against Joel Alvarez, so Klose could use a big-name rebound win here. Klose’s pressure-heavy approach could work quite well, particularly since he figures to be the strongest opponent that Barboza has felt in a while. Yet there’s a clear cause for concern. Klose isn’t the quickest fighter, and opponents that attempt to walk Barboza down without having a requisite level of speed usually just wind up walking into their own demise. The read is that Klose falls into that latter category, so this could wind up looking one-sided in practice. The pick is Barboza via second-round knockout.



Jump To »
Green vs. Ferreira
Oleksiejczuk vs. Meerschaert
Godinez vs. Andrade
Hooper vs. Hernandez
Barboza vs. Klose
Battle vs. Ruziboev
Silva vs. Barbosa
Sezinando vs. Donchenko
Idiris vs. Morales