Edson Barboza’s final UFC fight ended with an emotional retirement speech, but before the Brazilian legend officially walked away, his corner found itself under fire from fans who believed the fight should have been stopped between rounds.

‘Junior’ went one-on-one against Esteban Ribovics at UFC 330 on Saturday night, with the 40-year-old ultimately suffering a second-round TKO loss.

“Every single fight, I promise, I did my best,” an emotional Barboza told Joe Rogan after the fight. “Thank you, thank you so much.”

Ribovics dominated most of the first round, landing numerous blows and opening a cut on Barboza. The Argentine continued to press him from close range, limiting the UFC veteran’s ability to use his kicks.

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By the end of the round, Barboza had been rocked and dropped before grabbing onto ‘El Gringo’ to survive. He returned to his corner with his leg split open and bleeding, and his eye was also clearly damaged. But despite it all, the 40-year-old was sent back for the second round.

As expected, Esteban Ribovics immediately went back to work, ultimately trapping Edson Barboza against the fence and delivering a barrage of punches and elbows, forcing Herb Dean to intervene to end the fight.

The 40-year-old finishes his career with a 24-15 record after more than 15 years in the UFC. And his very impressive resume includes wins against Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez, Beneil Dariush, and Dan Hooker, with his spinning wheel-kick knockout of Terry Etim being one of the most legendary finishes in UFC history.

But instead of focusing only on the renowned striker’s farewell, fight fans instantly switched their attention to his corner, questioning why he was allowed to continue after such a disastrous first round.

It is worth noting that the criticism comes amid an increasing discussion about corner stoppages, following similar incidents involving Billy Ray Goff at UFC Vegas 120 and Tyrell Fortune at UFC Abu Dhabi.

For the unaware, just a few days ago in Vegas, even UFC legend and broadcaster Daniel Cormier questioned the decision-making in Billy Ray Goff’s corner to send him back out for a third round after receiving a brutal battering in the first ten minutes.

“You could see his orbital bone is broken—look at his eye,” Cormier said on the broadcast. “Look at his right eye. And then when he got hit on the right eye, he went down. The coach told him, ‘Don’t engage, just circle and essentially run.’ Why not just stop the fight?

“The writing was on the wall, especially if that’s the advice you’re giving your guy going into the third round.”

So, it was no surprise that seeing Edson Barboza end up in such bad shape just days after this controversy, and that too in his final fight did not sit well with fans, as they quickly turned their attention toward his corner and questioned why he was allowed to continue after such a damaging first round.

Fans blast Edson Barboza’s corner for letting retirement fight continue at UFC 330

The criticism began almost immediately, with one fan pointing specifically to the condition of Barboza’s leg and the damage he had already absorbed: “Awful call by Edson’s corner; his leg was cut open, he got beat bad in the first and was stumbling. They really should not have sent him back out there 😤,” a fan wrote on X.

Others argued that allowing a fighter to continue in that condition could have much more serious consequences. “Dude, seriously. That’s how you get your fighter really hurt or KILLED. Smh.”

Another fan was even more direct about what Barboza’s team should have done between rounds: “A shame on Edson Barboza’s corner. Throw the towel!”

The lack of a corner stoppage was also highlighted by another viewer, who felt Barboza had already taken enough punishment before the second round even began:

“The lack of corner stoppages strikes again. Edson Barboza should not have been sent back out there based on the gash in his shin, let alone the fact that there’s nothing more for the Brazilian to fight for. Round 2 was an extra battering to add insult to injury,” a fan wrote.

Another fan echoed the same sentiment, writing, “Barboza Corner should have stopped that fight between rounds.”

His age also became part of the discussion, with one viewer questioning why a 40-year-old veteran should have been exposed to additional damage in what was already his final fight: “If I was in his corner, I would have thrown in the towel at the end of the first round. Why let a 40-year-old fighter take unnecessary damage?”

And for another fan, the conclusion was simple: “Edson Barboza is a legend, but that fight had no business going that long.”