UFC 330: The end is near for Edson Barboza

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Sometimes it's a sense of relief to no longer have to deal with the rigors of fighting inside the cage or ring. Sometimes it's sadness because of the previous reason and being out of the spotlight. For Edson Barboza, he sees the proverbial pot of gold at the rainbow when he meets Esteban Ribovics (15-3) in lightweight action to kick off the main card of Saturday's UFC 330 from the XFinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, live on DAZN PPV in select territories.

Barboza (24-14) is one of the most dynamic strikers in UFC history. His spinning back kick knockout over Terry Etim at UFC 142 in in January 2012 is still remembered to this day. 

Time is winding down for Barboza. He's 40 years old and has been involved in combat sports since he was eight. His first professional fight was at 16. During that 24-year timeframe, Barboza has had 28 kickboxing fights, and on Saturday night it will be his 39th MMA fight. During the buildup to UFC 330, Barboza's been talking about calling it a career. The reason for that is quite simple: his family.

"I believe a couple of years ago, I started missing good times with my family because I was in camp, Barboza told DAZN News. "I need to train. Just one simple thing. Last Sunday, my wife and my kids played outside in the pool. I really enjoyed it. But in my mind, I needed to go inside because I needed rest. I was flying in a couple of days for my next fight. I miss that time. And this has hurt me so bad. So bad. I was crying inside the house to see my kids and my wife play outside. I was like, "F—, I need to rest for recovery for my next fight.'

"And I started thinking about it (retirement). I started putting it on the table. All this stuff, and I think I did enough. And let's see if I'm going to do this for a long, long time. I don't want to miss those times anymore."

When fighters are set on retiring, they retire. Few reveal that plan before the fight so they can be dialed and focus on the task at hand. Some also change their minds once the walk is made to the cage and have a spectacular victory. Some also stick to their plan of hanging up the gloves. 

Barboza isn't tipping his hand and kept the poker face on when asked about his plans. 

"My goal is on Saturday night," Barboza said. "Let's see what's going on on Saturday night. I want to get my job done on Saturday night, and then let's see what happens. My focus is hundred percent on Saturday night. One hundred percent. I don't think about it before. I don't think about it after. My job is to win Saturday night."

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