Shane Burgos is allergic to being in a boring fight.
While I’m not a doctor and I haven’t seen the man’s medical records, I feel pretty confident making that statement because through eight UFC appearances, the 30-year-old “Hurricane” is 6-2, with every fight being wildly entertaining and his two setbacks coming in Fight of the Night-winning clashes against a pair of Top 10 fixtures, Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett.
This weekend, the Bronx-born Team Tiger Schulmann representative makes his first start of the year in another matchup guaranteed to produce fireworks as he lands on the pay-per-view main card opposite Edson Barboza. Like Burgos, the Brazilian veteran is incapable of being in a pedestrian affair, with Saturday night’s bout serving as a critical matchup in each man’s quest to ascend the highly competitive featherweight ranks.
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Currently stationed at No. 9 in the rankings, Burgos has nothing but standouts ahead of him and a collection of hungry upstarts (and Barboza) nipping at his heels, with several others sitting outside of the rankings desperate to get their shot to join the fray.
Fundamentally sound and the type of fighter that gets better as the fight wears on, Burgos has a chance to elevate himself to the fringes of contention with a victory here, putting himself in a position where he could be the lower-ranked half of the pairing next time around. Barboza has looked very good since moving to the 145-pound ranks last year and brings a wealth of experience with him into the Octagon this weekend, but if Burgos can get himself back into the win column by turning back the former lightweight standout, his profile in the ultra-competitive featherweight division should rise.
