Barboza lost to Ferguson and Johnson...

Marketability, charisma & the fact that you held two belts in the past counts.

Not when you're coming off of two losses, and the shadow of Conor McGregor is threatening to take over your division
 
Honoring contracts is a thing

This should answer OP's question then ^ As far as Conor's effect goes, many fighters will benefit from his presence and pay, as others have said before a rising tide floats all boats.
 
I don't know, I think Khabib is a higher profile fight than Pettis considering that Anthony has lost two in a row now.
 
It's a rebound fight for Pettis. They don't want him in their with hungry new contenders. Barboza is the guy you use to put a fighter over.
 
It is obvious Baldfather gift Pettis this match. Inferior striker who won't grind.
 
Alvarez is not close to a TS after winning two disputed decisions.
I can't see anyway the brass would reward him for hugging Pettis like a stage 5 clingy girlfriend.
I said in another thread his punishment for beating Pettis in bidding fashion is Nate Diaz.
 
Yet he scores a higher profile fight than either of the two have ever been in. He could easily leapfrog them both with an impressive win here.

Is this proof that it pays off to fight on short notice and fight through fouls? Dana praised him for it.

Barboza has never pulled out of a fight and he's had 7 replacement fights now. He asked for this fight. You gotta think he's on their good graces.
Fighters who don't pull out of fights and are willing to ALWAYS take short notice fights, will be taken care of by the UFC.
 
If Barboza wins, he's two more wins away from a title shot I bet. That's fucking nuts, seeing that he's coming off of a loss to El Cucuy.
 
Pettis is coming off 2 losses which is a blessing just because we can have this matchup. Makes perfect sense at this point. Can't believe people are complaining about this fight
 
Other than the fact Fergy is fighting the uncrowned champ for a TS you could be on to something.
 
This is a great fight. Period. I think Pettis is a little tougher mentally than Barboza but athletically they're about even and overall their skillsets match up very closely. I'm just praying Pettis doesn't pull another turkey of a fight like he did against Lil' Heathen. The grinder/grappler style is not his strong suit. At all.
 
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