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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC lightweight Edson Barboza has won seven of his eight fights in the organization, but because of that one loss, he remains just on the fringe of the top ten.
He'd like to remedy that situation, and to do so he has a few names in mind that he'd like to face next: Nate Diaz, Jim Miller, and Donald Cerrone.
"It is my time, I need to fight those guys," Barboza said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "I need the opportunity to fight against those guys. I am ranked No. 11, so the only guys who are above me are the top 10. I need to fight those guys to get to my goal which is getting that belt. I earned that opportunity."
"I think those fights would be interesting because they are the best one in my division, and I feel I am part of the best ones as well. So, I know if I fight one of those names, it would be a great show for the fans who will be watching those fights."
Penick's Analysis: At this moment, a fight between Barboza and Miller is the most likely of the three, though Cerrone could be in play depending on how his fight with Adriano Martins goes on Saturday night. Barboza absolutely deserves a chance to fight a top ten guy, because he has won three fights in a row and does have seven wins in the UFC. That said, the loss to Varner absolutely sticks out, and he's been in trouble in some other fights only to come back late. If he can pick up a win over a top ten guy, though, he can stake a claim for a top five fight, and can parlay that to a run towards a title fight.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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