In the least-surprising turn of events, Gaethje and Barboza delivered a scintillating two-and-a-half minutes of action that included, yes, leg kicks and, yes, powerful flurries. It seemed like Barboza was about to feed Gaethje a steady diet of leg kicks after “The Highlight” threw one of his own, but before they could really take effect, Gaethje caught “Junior” with a solid right hook.
It was all parts stunning and also what was exactly expected. Both fighters said they knew they couldn’t take any breaks with the amount of danger their opponent wielded in all limbs, and that’s where Barboza slipped.