The former RFA featherweight champion signed with the UFC back in 2017, but it took a while before he finally entered his first UFC fight week. Now set to debut against Kurt Holobaugh at Saturday’s UFC Boise card, Barcelos wants to show it was worth the wait.
Barcelos experienced a roller-coaster of emotions over the past 12 months. After successfully defending his RFA belt for a second time in 2016, Barcelo first had his subsequent LFA bout cancelled, then was offered a short-notice UFC chance to replace an injured Augusto Mendes, however his opponent ultimately pulled out with an injury.