I'm not interested in hearing people belittle either him or Cerrone. Both are favorites of mine, and IMO I think Barboza proved he can hang at that level but he still needs work. I have a few observations.
He moved to Frankie's place because his wrestling was basically non existent. Now his wrestling, scrambling, and grappling for that matter look good enough to compete.
Now it's time for him to get a new striking coach and sparring partners to help him improve his strength. Frankie is awesome, but he is not known for exemplary striking defense, he just happens to have an amazing chin and even better recovery but he gets rocked every fight.
Knowing that Barboza's weakness is getting hit by big shots, it's time for him to move somewhere like Nova Uniao to polish up his striking and defense.
It is certainly attainable, notice how Ben Henderson's defense has improved after being rocked and dropped by Clay Guida, Frankie, Jim Miller, Shane Roller, and any other non power puncher that I'm forgetting.
His boxing looked much improved against Cerrone, but there are still fundamental things he needs help with and I'm not sure his current camp can fix them. Thoughts?
He moved to Frankie's place because his wrestling was basically non existent. Now his wrestling, scrambling, and grappling for that matter look good enough to compete.
Now it's time for him to get a new striking coach and sparring partners to help him improve his strength. Frankie is awesome, but he is not known for exemplary striking defense, he just happens to have an amazing chin and even better recovery but he gets rocked every fight.
Knowing that Barboza's weakness is getting hit by big shots, it's time for him to move somewhere like Nova Uniao to polish up his striking and defense.
It is certainly attainable, notice how Ben Henderson's defense has improved after being rocked and dropped by Clay Guida, Frankie, Jim Miller, Shane Roller, and any other non power puncher that I'm forgetting.
His boxing looked much improved against Cerrone, but there are still fundamental things he needs help with and I'm not sure his current camp can fix them. Thoughts?