Author: Chuck Mindenhall

UFC 190 undercard live blog: Maia vs. Magny

This is the UFC 190 undercard blog for the UFC 190 event at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night.There will be six fights on the UFC 190 undercard. Demian Maia vs. Neil Magny, Rafael Cavalcante vs. Patrick Cummins, Warlley Alve…

This is the UFC 190 undercard blog for the UFC 190 event at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night.

There will be six fights on the UFC 190 undercard. Demian Maia vs. Neil Magny, Rafael Cavalcante vs. Patrick Cummins, Warlley Alves vs. Nordine Taleb, Iuri Alcantara vs. Leandro Issa, Vitor Miranda vs. Clint Hester, and Hugo Viana vs. Guido Cannetti will be featured.

Check out the UFC 190 undercard live blog below.

More Coverage: UFC 190 Results | UFC news

Hugo Viana vs. Guido Cannetti
Round 1: First fight on the UFC 190 undercard about to get rolling. Referee for this bantamweight bout will be Osiris Maia. The Argentinian Cannetti looking to make it two in a row in the UFC. Viana came out wearing his “Wolverine” claws, and got a good pop from the Brazilian crowd. They touch gloves. Wide stances, as they feel each other out here early. Now Viana comes in with a flying kick, and that might have nicked Cannetti a bit. They reset. Early crowd already loud in Rio. Spinning kick from Cannetti, and Viana snatches his leg out and tackles him. He’s fishing for a heel hook here, but it isn’t happening. Viana trying to get Cannetti’s back. They stand on the fence, and Viana now using his frame to post Cannetti on the links. He’s landing some knees to the body in close. Cannetti landing some knees. Viana trying to hoist Cannetti up and dump him down, but so far Cannetti is thwarting. A lot of energy being expended here. Viana drops lower and gets his lower body into a takedown attempt, but Cannetti isn’t budging. Now Cannetti turns the action around and is landing some short shots inside. The referee separates them. High kick whiffs from Cannetti, as Viana keeping a healthy range. With the opposing stances, they are slapping fives, and Cannetti slams down Viana in a scramble. Not a ton of action in that round. MMA Fighting scores R1 for Viana, 10-9.

Round 2: They come out, and Viana takes a head kick that might have wobbled him. But Cannetti takes him to the ground, and now he’s going to work. This might be a chance for “Wolverine” to recover. Cannetti on top, in Viana’s guard. Now the Brazilian stands up, and he fishes for a single-leg. Gets a momentary takedown, but Cannetti right back up. Knee from Cannetti to the body of Viana, as Cannetti rolls on the fence and takes Viana down. But Viana is right back up. They return to center, with Cannetti holding. Huge leg kick takes Cannetti right off his feet, and the crowd belts out a roar. Viana ducks in and shoves Cannetti up to the fence, and now he’s trying to hack away at his chin with some up-punches. Once again, Viana squats low looking for a takedown, but Cannetti not having it. Referee sees a stall and brings them back out to center. Left counter from Cannetti, and that was nice. But Viana shoots in for a takedown, and this time he scores it. He’s in Cannetti’s guard, posturing up. Now he’s raining down hammerfists, and there’s plenty of room for big shots here. Cannetti is not tying up those swinging appendages. Right as I say that, he does. He’s not cradling on fence as Viana once again slams home a couple of big shots on the supine Argentinian. MMA Fighting scores R2 for Viana, 10-9 (20-18 overall)

Round 3: Cannetti with some head kick action early, as he misses on one and then another. That prompts Viana to close the distance, and they clinch. They are back on the fence, and Viana is slugging his fists into Cannetti’s rib cage. Foot stomp by the Brazilian, and they scramble. They go down, but right back up. Cannetti very difficult to control. Double-underhooks by Viana, and they toil on the fence. Viana is really trying to get that takedown, and he’s getting hit with some knees to the body for his efforts. They exchange and they go scrambling towards the fence. Cannetti getting the better of that scramble, and now it’s him with the double underhooks. Back and forth fight. Good strikers, both, but they are toiling right now on that fence, and the referee (once again) separates them. Left hand from Cannetti, and he takes Viana down. Can’t keep Viana there. And they are glued together again on he fence, with Viana trying to trip Cannetti down. Instead, Cannetti muscles Viana the other way and down to the canvas they go. It’s Cannetti in half-guard, and he’s trying to work something late, but that’s where it ends. Close fight. Very close. MMA Fighting scores R3 for Cannetti, 10-9 (29-28 overall for Viana).

UFC 190 official results: Guido Cannetti def. Hugo Viana via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Vitor Miranda vs. Clint Hester
Round 1: Couple of TUF contestants squaring off here in a middleweight bout. The ref is Herb Dean. No touch of the gloves for Hester, who spurns Miranda. Hester right into the clinch, and he double-legs Miranda, and drops him to the floor near the fence. Hester suffocating him early. Miranda on his knees, trying to thrust back to his feet, but Hester has his back, and he’s dropping knees into his thighs. Hester clinging to the feet, and drops Miranda on his back, where he now gets into his half-guard. Crowd boos as Miranda rolls back to his knees. Hester dropping knees into his thighs, and they aren’t doing any damage. Miranda finally gets back up to a nice ovation, but Hester is genuflecting (seemingly) trying to get that double leg. He loses his grip, and now it’s Miranda who has Hester on his back. He postures up and starts throwing bombs at Hester! Some nice shots there, as Hester was in a jam. Miranda still in control, once again — and with great poise — landing shots. There’s a nice left hand from Miranda, who is just blowing Hester up with that left hand. Hester looks stiff and helpess here on his back, and Miranda continues to tee off. Hester trying to snatch a wrist to control the damage, but Miranga postures up again. Now Hester is pulling Miranda’s head into his chest, keeping him close. Miranda breaks free to land one more left hand as the horn sounds. MMA Fighting scores R1 for Miranda, 10-9.

Round 2: Hester with a right hand out of the gate, but Miranda greets it with a good inside leg kick. Hester shoots in and once again he dumps Miranda on his butt. Miranda able to get back up, and they roll back out to center. Leg kick from Miranda drops Hester for a second. Hester moves in with a series of punches to set up a takedown, and Miranda goes to work on Hester’s body with his right fist. Hester momentarily gets Miranda down, but the Brazilian is right back up. Elbow from Hester lands, and he pursues Miranda across the cage. Once again Hester shoots in, and Miranda lands a knee to his chin as he does and reverses! Now he’s going to work. Miranda lands about a dozen left hands on the squirming Hester, who is lost on the ground and just taking punishment. Miranda is landing elbows now…one, two, three, tons. And finally Herb Dean, seeing nothing for “Headbussa” Hester, steps in to stop the fight. Miranda did a great job of turning the tables on Hester there; once he got Hester on his back, it was academic.

UFC 190 official results: Vitor Miranda def. Clint Hester via TKO (strikes) at 2:38 or R2

Iuri Alcantara vs. Leandro Issa
Round 1: Referee is Osiris Maia. Alcantara kissed his biceps during intros. They touch gloves. Alcantara comes storming across the cage flinging bombs. Now he is picking his shots, goes to the body with a kick then up top with a follow-up punch. Issa looking to time out a counter, and Alcantara comes in again, this time landing a flying knee. Issa coolly scoops up Alcantara by the knees, and for a moment holds him on his shoulders. Issa now trying to keep his arm from being pried off his body, as Alcantara looks for a kimura. They scramble, and Issa ends up on top. Immediately Issa moves into half-guard, and he’s landing short elbows into Alcantara’s brow as he maneuvers. Issa now in side control, and he’s leveraging here, landing right hands. Issa showing some great grappling here, as he methodically traps one of Alcantara’s arms under his knee. Now Issa is trying to pry Alcantara’s arm but slips off. Issa rolls to a north-south, and then right back to side. Alcantara stands up, and now he’s trying to work get something rolling, but Issa slips out and he’s now in full mount. Great grappling exchanges. Issa swimming through the tangle of limbs to work his ground and pound. The round finishes with Issa on top. MMA Fighting scores R1 for Issa, 10-9.

Round 2:

Round 3:

Warlley Alves vs. Nordine Taleb
Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Rafael Cavalcante vs. Patrick Cummins
Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Demian Maia vs. Neil Magny
Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

With Ronda Rousey, a lack of competition doesn’t mean a lack of drama

If the public had its way, Bethe Correia would carry a one-time only nickname into tonight’s main event with Ronda Rousey at UFC 190: “The Formality.” Nobody is giving Correia much of a chance, even though she’ll be fighting on home soil in Brazil. The thing is, even thousands of Cariocas chanting morbid things (at which fighter is anybody’s guess) can’t will Correia into being something she’s not.

And that is, a miracle worker.

Correia had a fine time of it beating up Rousey’s buddies to get to this point. She battered Jessamyn Duke (which, as you know, has become a bit of a pastime for women in the bantamweight division) at UFC 172, and then lit into Shayna Baszler at UFC 177. As both belonged to the ill-fated “Four Horsewomen” — an homage to the fabled Four Horsemen of pro wrestling, featuring Rousey herself — Correia peeled away her fingers after each win like a bounty hunter in pursuit of the champ. It was a nice touch. Since the other horsewoman, Marina Shafir, doesn’t fight in the UFC or even in a nearby weight class, it’s straight to Rousey.

Of course, Rousey is the place where all such narratives go to die. Rousey is the executioner at the end of every run, at the end of every feel-good story, at the end of every so-called rainbow. She’s hangs over the division like black drapes in a green room. She’s the brick wall that every underdog smashes into on every flight of fancy. She owns Sugarloaf Mountain.

The numbers don’t lie: Alexis Davis, 16 seconds…Cat Zingano, 14 seconds…Sara McMann, 66 seconds…Sarah Kaufman, 54 seconds. That’s a whole division that Rousey cleared out in a grand total of two minutes and 30 seconds of cage time. Rousey doesn’t waste time.

And Correia, who actually helped Rousey guard against complacency by mentioning her father, is just another dangling piñata. Only Rousey isn’t the bat in this scenario. She’s a bazooka.

Oh, now wait — not that we can’t cling to certain dramatic markers in the lead-up. Rousey is meeting Correia on Correia’s terms, after all. One fun narrative is that this fight is reminiscent of Rocky IV, with the way it’s set up. And it is, it is, make no mistake about it. It feels exactly like when Ivan Drago came into enemy territory to face Apollo Creed.

(Hopefully I’m not misinterpreting the reference).

In any case — and to be fair — Correia is no better off than anybody not named “Cyborg” going against Rousey at this point. In some ways, we’ve come full-circle to UFC president Dana White’s original objection to introducing the women’s 135-division into the UFC in the first place. There’s not much depth. The only way it can work is if Rousey is the abyss. It can only work if Rousey devours her competition in the savage way that Mike Tyson did in the mid-to-late-1980s. You see, Correia has to be Pinklon Thomas.

And Miesha Tate, who is once again in the on-deck circle, is Tony Tubbs or Tony Tucker, take your pick.

Speaking of Tate, there’s your example for just how far out in front Rousey is of everybody else. Tate defeated Jessica Eye at UFC on FOX 16 and has once again worked her way into Rousey’s crosshairs. Correia is such a foregone conclusion that we’re already contemplating the trilogy between Tate and Rousey. And yet Tate’s claim to fame in fighting Rousey the first two times is that A) her threshold for pain is preternatural, especially when her arm is being turned up at odd angles and B) she lasted longer than anybody else against Rousey.

In Rousey’s book, My Fight/Your Fight, she wrote that the prolonged drubbing at UFC 168 was actually done on purpose. That she wanted to punish Tate. Diabolical, sure, but given Rousey’s track record it’s not hard to believe her. (Note: Rousey also said in the book that beet borscht tasted like “angel bathwater,” presumably just to send the reader down a rabbit hole. So take what you will from it).

Tate is like an ongoing investigation at this point. She’s the recurring representative who exists to figure out if the gap is closing between Rousey and her nearest counterpart. Make a few tweaks on Tate and send her in again. When the time comes for Tate-Rousey III, people will already be looking well past “Cupcake.” It doesn’t matter how many pairs of glass slippers she tries on, none of them are going to fit.

That’s the feeling, anyway.

Rousey said this week that she has a three-part plan in place for the immediate future: To beat Correia, take a couple of weeks off then beat Tate, and when all that’s said and done, go film a movie called Mile 22. Maybe Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino sits at the next mile marker, who knows. It’s wait and see. Cyborg is the only fight where it doesn’t feel like a foregone conclusion. There’s the weight conundrum, but that fight will only grow on the horizon, the last big drama of Rousey’s career.

Not that there isn’t drama to be had at UFC 190. It’s just a different kind. It’s less to do with Correia’s chances than it is how fast, how intense, how vicious, how ruthless. That’s come to define a Rousey fight. And sometimes, when you’re dealing with an athlete such as her, those things are enough.

If the public had its way, Bethe Correia would carry a one-time only nickname into tonight’s main event with Ronda Rousey at UFC 190: “The Formality.” Nobody is giving Correia much of a chance, even though she’ll be fighting on home soil in Brazil. The thing is, even thousands of Cariocas chanting morbid things (at which fighter is anybody’s guess) can’t will Correia into being something she’s not.

And that is, a miracle worker.

Correia had a fine time of it beating up Rousey’s buddies to get to this point. She battered Jessamyn Duke (which, as you know, has become a bit of a pastime for women in the bantamweight division) at UFC 172, and then lit into Shayna Baszler at UFC 177. As both belonged to the ill-fated “Four Horsewomen” — an homage to the fabled Four Horsemen of pro wrestling, featuring Rousey herself — Correia peeled away her fingers after each win like a bounty hunter in pursuit of the champ. It was a nice touch. Since the other horsewoman, Marina Shafir, doesn’t fight in the UFC or even in a nearby weight class, it’s straight to Rousey.

Of course, Rousey is the place where all such narratives go to die. Rousey is the executioner at the end of every run, at the end of every feel-good story, at the end of every so-called rainbow. She’s hangs over the division like black drapes in a green room. She’s the brick wall that every underdog smashes into on every flight of fancy. She owns Sugarloaf Mountain.

The numbers don’t lie: Alexis Davis, 16 seconds…Cat Zingano, 14 seconds…Sara McMann, 66 seconds…Sarah Kaufman, 54 seconds. That’s a whole division that Rousey cleared out in a grand total of two minutes and 30 seconds of cage time. Rousey doesn’t waste time.

And Correia, who actually helped Rousey guard against complacency by mentioning her father, is just another dangling piñata. Only Rousey isn’t the bat in this scenario. She’s a bazooka.

Oh, now wait — not that we can’t cling to certain dramatic markers in the lead-up. Rousey is meeting Correia on Correia’s terms, after all. One fun narrative is that this fight is reminiscent of Rocky IV, with the way it’s set up. And it is, it is, make no mistake about it. It feels exactly like when Ivan Drago came into enemy territory to face Apollo Creed.

(Hopefully I’m not misinterpreting the reference).

In any case — and to be fair — Correia is no better off than anybody not named “Cyborg” going against Rousey at this point. In some ways, we’ve come full-circle to UFC president Dana White’s original objection to introducing the women’s 135-division into the UFC in the first place. There’s not much depth. The only way it can work is if Rousey is the abyss. It can only work if Rousey devours her competition in the savage way that Mike Tyson did in the mid-to-late-1980s. You see, Correia has to be Pinklon Thomas.

And Miesha Tate, who is once again in the on-deck circle, is Tony Tubbs or Tony Tucker, take your pick.

Speaking of Tate, there’s your example for just how far out in front Rousey is of everybody else. Tate defeated Jessica Eye at UFC on FOX 16 and has once again worked her way into Rousey’s crosshairs. Correia is such a foregone conclusion that we’re already contemplating the trilogy between Tate and Rousey. And yet Tate’s claim to fame in fighting Rousey the first two times is that A) her threshold for pain is preternatural, especially when her arm is being turned up at odd angles and B) she lasted longer than anybody else against Rousey.

In Rousey’s book, My Fight/Your Fight, she wrote that the prolonged drubbing at UFC 168 was actually done on purpose. That she wanted to punish Tate. Diabolical, sure, but given Rousey’s track record it’s not hard to believe her. (Note: Rousey also said in the book that beet borscht tasted like “angel bathwater,” presumably just to send the reader down a rabbit hole. So take what you will from it).

Tate is like an ongoing investigation at this point. She’s the recurring representative who exists to figure out if the gap is closing between Rousey and her nearest counterpart. Make a few tweaks on Tate and send her in again. When the time comes for Tate-Rousey III, people will already be looking well past “Cupcake.” It doesn’t matter how many pairs of glass slippers she tries on, none of them are going to fit.

That’s the feeling, anyway.

Rousey said this week that she has a three-part plan in place for the immediate future: To beat Correia, take a couple of weeks off then beat Tate, and when all that’s said and done, go film a movie called Mile 22. Maybe Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino sits at the next mile marker, who knows. It’s wait and see. Cyborg is the only fight where it doesn’t feel like a foregone conclusion. There’s the weight conundrum, but that fight will only grow on the horizon, the last big drama of Rousey’s career.

Not that there isn’t drama to be had at UFC 190. It’s just a different kind. It’s less to do with Correia’s chances than it is how fast, how intense, how vicious, how ruthless. That’s come to define a Rousey fight. And sometimes, when you’re dealing with an athlete such as her, those things are enough.

Robert Follis: Today’s Miesha Tate ‘much better’ than the one who fought Ronda Rousey at UFC 168

Perhaps nobody enjoyed this past weekend’s UFC card more than Robert Follis, who coached both Bryan Caraway and Miesha Tate to victories on Saturday night in Chicago. In his biggest test to date, Caraway scored a decision over Eddie Wineland, while Tate overcame a slow start to dominate Jessica Eye in UFC on FOX 16’s co-main event.

Tate’s victory, it was learned later, came with a title shot. UFC president Dana White said that “Cupcake’ is next to get another crack at Ronda Rousey’s belt, should Rousey get by Bethe Correia this weekend at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro.

Follis has been with Tate since UFC 168, when she fought Rousey in a rematch from a Strikeforce title fight nearly two years earlier. Though Tate came up short (losing via a third-round armbar), that fight came with a small silver lining.

As has become the rallying card to justify a third fight, Tate lasted longer in the Octagon against Rousey than any of her other 10 opponents.

Will anything be different the next time through? Tate’s coach thinks so. Now with four straight victories, Follis believes that the Miesha Tate who fought Rousey in late-2013 is nowhere near as good as the one he’s coaching now.

“[Tate]’s much better,” Follis said during an appearance on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “I mean, we’ve worked very hard at adding on a deeper level of striking. Her hands are getting better and better and better. We’re adding kicks in a little bit more. Her wrestling is getting better, and we keep continuing to work on her judo. She’s a confident professional, both her and Bryan [Caraway] are constantly looking to evolve their game, which showed up in these fights.

“I mean, this [Eye fight] was a fight where she went out and dominated standing up with a girl I think everybody thought should have won on the stand-up. I think we showed the skills that we’ve been working are definitely showing up in the cage, which is where you need them to.”

Follis, who has been known Tate and Caraway since he worked at Team Quest in Oregon a decade ago, now operates in Las Vegas at Xtreme Couture — a big-name gym that he has helped resurrect. He says he has seen incremental progress in Tate, and that he’s thankful for the opportunity to see how her improvements match-up with Rousey.

Not everyone is as excited. Some fans and media have expressed disinterest in seeing a trilogy after Rousey won the first two bouts so convincingly. And earlier on Monday’s show, Rousey’s coach Edmond Tarverdyan said that — though he’s “excited” for a trilogy with Tate — that this time he was going to make sure “it’s not healthy for her career.”

Asked what he thought of that sentiment, Follis said there’s only one way to find out.

“I’d say let’s fight and see,” he told Ariel Helwani. “That’s the great thing. She hasn’t taken years off her career in the first two fights. I mean, she beat her, she got an armbar in both those fights, but I feel like we continue to make progression. We’ve earned a title shot and that’s the spot we’re in. We feel we’re going to go in and dominate, and that’s the way you take fights. So, I would be surprised if they’re really nervous about fighting Miesha because they think she’s really going to hurt our girl.

“We’re excited for the opportunity. I don’t really get into the talking about it. For me, it’s up to me to prepare her, let’s let the fighters go do their thing. That to me is what it’s really about. And I think that Miesha’s proved that there’s not another woman in the division that’s earned a fight with her more, and we’re looking forward to a chance to prove it again.”

As for a plan to beat Rousey, Follis said he hopes to fill in some more blanks after Rousey’s fight with Correia on Saturday night.

“First I’d like to see what happens with this fight,” he said. “Each fight that she has I think gives more things to study and see her tendencies and what she does. I mean, she’s obviously a very talented athlete and a dangerous fighter. To say anything other than that is just silly. But I don’t think he’s unbeatable. I mean, everybody’s got a spot that they can beat, and we’re going to be looking to expose what we think are some of those weaknesses.”

Perhaps nobody enjoyed this past weekend’s UFC card more than Robert Follis, who coached both Bryan Caraway and Miesha Tate to victories on Saturday night in Chicago. In his biggest test to date, Caraway scored a decision over Eddie Wineland, while Tate overcame a slow start to dominate Jessica Eye in UFC on FOX 16’s co-main event.

Tate’s victory, it was learned later, came with a title shot. UFC president Dana White said that “Cupcake’ is next to get another crack at Ronda Rousey’s belt, should Rousey get by Bethe Correia this weekend at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro.

Follis has been with Tate since UFC 168, when she fought Rousey in a rematch from a Strikeforce title fight nearly two years earlier. Though Tate came up short (losing via a third-round armbar), that fight came with a small silver lining.

As has become the rallying card to justify a third fight, Tate lasted longer in the Octagon against Rousey than any of her other 10 opponents.

Will anything be different the next time through? Tate’s coach thinks so. Now with four straight victories, Follis believes that the Miesha Tate who fought Rousey in late-2013 is nowhere near as good as the one he’s coaching now.

“[Tate]’s much better,” Follis said during an appearance on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “I mean, we’ve worked very hard at adding on a deeper level of striking. Her hands are getting better and better and better. We’re adding kicks in a little bit more. Her wrestling is getting better, and we keep continuing to work on her judo. She’s a confident professional, both her and Bryan [Caraway] are constantly looking to evolve their game, which showed up in these fights.

“I mean, this [Eye fight] was a fight where she went out and dominated standing up with a girl I think everybody thought should have won on the stand-up. I think we showed the skills that we’ve been working are definitely showing up in the cage, which is where you need them to.”

Follis, who has been known Tate and Caraway since he worked at Team Quest in Oregon a decade ago, now operates in Las Vegas at Xtreme Couture — a big-name gym that he has helped resurrect. He says he has seen incremental progress in Tate, and that he’s thankful for the opportunity to see how her improvements match-up with Rousey.

Not everyone is as excited. Some fans and media have expressed disinterest in seeing a trilogy after Rousey won the first two bouts so convincingly. And earlier on Monday’s show, Rousey’s coach Edmond Tarverdyan said that — though he’s “excited” for a trilogy with Tate — that this time he was going to make sure “it’s not healthy for her career.”

Asked what he thought of that sentiment, Follis said there’s only one way to find out.

“I’d say let’s fight and see,” he told Ariel Helwani. “That’s the great thing. She hasn’t taken years off her career in the first two fights. I mean, she beat her, she got an armbar in both those fights, but I feel like we continue to make progression. We’ve earned a title shot and that’s the spot we’re in. We feel we’re going to go in and dominate, and that’s the way you take fights. So, I would be surprised if they’re really nervous about fighting Miesha because they think she’s really going to hurt our girl.

“We’re excited for the opportunity. I don’t really get into the talking about it. For me, it’s up to me to prepare her, let’s let the fighters go do their thing. That to me is what it’s really about. And I think that Miesha’s proved that there’s not another woman in the division that’s earned a fight with her more, and we’re looking forward to a chance to prove it again.”

As for a plan to beat Rousey, Follis said he hopes to fill in some more blanks after Rousey’s fight with Correia on Saturday night.

“First I’d like to see what happens with this fight,” he said. “Each fight that she has I think gives more things to study and see her tendencies and what she does. I mean, she’s obviously a very talented athlete and a dangerous fighter. To say anything other than that is just silly. But I don’t think he’s unbeatable. I mean, everybody’s got a spot that they can beat, and we’re going to be looking to expose what we think are some of those weaknesses.”

Dana White: Renan Barao ‘should probably move up’ to featherweight

Now having lost his belt to T.J. Dillashaw and the rematch, the only chance former bantamweight champion Renan Barao has of getting a title shot again is another weight class.
And UFC president Dana White thinks it’s time for the 28-year-old…

Now having lost his belt to T.J. Dillashaw and the rematch, the only chance former bantamweight champion Renan Barao has of getting a title shot again is another weight class.

And UFC president Dana White thinks it’s time for the 28-year-old Brazilian to get a change of scenery.

White said in the UFC on FOX 16 post-fight conference that he thinks Barao should explore the idea of moving up to featherweight, particularly since he has had so much trouble cutting weight over the years.

“Yeah, it’s obviously his decision but I think it would be a good idea to go up in weight,” White told the media. “You know, he’s been having problems with the weight. He didn’t have problems yesterday — he made the weight easy — but he looks really drawn out and dry when he cuts weight. So he should probably move up.”

Barao was forced out of the original rematch with Dillashaw at UFC 177 after a disastrous weight cut led to him passing out and hitting his head. Though he did make weight for Saturday’s fight, he visibly appeared to gas early in the fight, showing signs of fatigue even in the first round.

Asked if the weight cut might have affected his performance, White said it’s tricky to put a finger on what went wrong in circumstances like his.

“I don’t know, it’s weird because there are situations where, when a guy loses a certain fight in a certain way, he’s never the same,” he said. “It happened to Meldrick Taylor and a million other guys in boxing. And it almost looks like it happened to Renan”

Dillashaw retained the bantamweight title by stopping Barao in the fourth-round via TKO (strikes). Barao is now 33-3-(1), with his only two losses in the last ten years coming against Dillashaw.

T.J. Dillashaw is now ready to face the original T.J. Dillashaw, Dominick Cruz

The good news for Renan Barao is that he won’t have to face T.J. Dillashaw again. In his “just for good measure” rematch with the current bantamweight champ he was stormed, looted, picked apart, cut into neat lines and then blown into a cloud of particles by the speedier, far more confident Dillashaw. It was a competitive fight for a little bit (if you squinted), then it became laughable. Dillashaw was styling on Barao by the end of the first round in Chicago, keeping his hands down around his belt loops, looking more like a playground taunt than a man in danger of losing his title.

By the fourth round, he landed something like 25 (but as many as 27) unanswered shots on Barao, as the one-time king of the division collapsed in on himself along the fence. There’s emphasis in that kind of onslaught. Especially when it happens on broadcast television, where the virginal eyes of casuals were free to grow as big as saucers.

And this was one of those fights that sends people on their way, careening into very different futures. Barao, who has struggled to make the 135-pound minimum for a long time, can bulk up a bit and move on to featherweight, where words like “reinvention” can be thrown at him. He’s only 28 years old. This can all be filed away as a “chapter” in his career. He had flirted with the idea of 145 before Dillashaw came along and insisted on the issue. One big win there and the music will return to this step.

As for Dillashaw, Saturday night’s win was a move into the spectrum of true legitimacy as a champion. No knock on the late-replacement Joe Soto at UFC 177, but this was in effect his first real title defense. The once mighty Barao has been vanquished, and now things get interesting in a division that has traditionally lacked imagination. Dillashaw, an alum of The Ultimate Fighter franchise of all things, is now the riddle to be solved.

There are a number of challenges for Dillashaw that carry intrigue, or at very least a back-story. Raphael Assuncao scored a split-decision victory over Dillashaw in 2013 out in Brazil. That’s a rematch that hovers out there, almost obligatorily. With ex/current-coach Duane Ludwig sort of turning Team Alpha Male into a divided house, there’s a potential clash with his longtime teammate (and “Bang” detractor) Urijah Faber. The best fights are family feuds. Then there’s the rematch with the ornery John Dodson, who is still smiling from that time he clubbed Dillashaw to win TUF 14. Dodson is slated to face flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson next, so it’ll have to wait.

And speaking of “Mighty Mouse,” what a fine fight that would be for Dillashaw.

None of these compare, though, to the most compelling fight of all. That would be pitting Dillashaw, who has incrementally gotten better with every showing by becoming a facsimile of Dominick Cruz, against Dominick Cruz himself. Good god, it’s almost too much to contemplate.

Long before there was a Renan Barao with a gold-plated belt, there was Cruz just flummoxing everybody in the weight class with bewitching movement and punch-combo alchemy. His movement was instantaneous and impulsive — like a guppy when the glass gets tapped — and he has the ability to know his opposition better than his opposition knows themselves. He came out of every fight in near mint condition, because he was a mirage in there. Hard to find. Hard to time. Hard to put a finger on. Nearly impossible to hit clean.

Imagine a fight between Cruz and Dillashaw. It would be all footwork, head movement and angle-play, just two guys bending minds in the game of chaos. When Dillashaw lands, Cruz would turn into a figment. When the Cruz lands, Dillashaw turns into the personification of geometry. That’s not just a great fight, that’s a fight with a mile of pure technical intrigue. The kind of fight that would make Joe Rogan lose his sh*t.

Of course, the question is not so much if but when.

Cruz has fought once since 2011, and he’s recovering from (yet another) ACL. It’s been a long time since a man stopped Cruz (which was Faber back in 2007), but he’s been ransacked by injuries and rotten luck. Just like when he returned against Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 178 — whom he blitzed and destroyed in 61 seconds, by the way — we’re not sure in what form Cruz will return. We’re not sure if he’ll be ready to fight at any point in 2015. Dillashaw might have to defend that title again before Cruz is fully ready.

But the one thing that is certain is that Dillashaw is ready for Cruz. Back in the day, it was difficult to find Cruz a suitable dance partner. Such was he gap between him and everybody else. Cruz avenged his loss to Faber and beat Dillashaw’s other TAM training partner Joseph Benavidez twice and “Mighty Mouse” Johnson once. It was Cruz who created the flyweight division. Benavidez and Johnson had no place else to go.

In his absence, Dillashaw has closed the gap. In fact, almost like an ambitious understudy, Dillashaw has become a modern day Cruz. It’s a tribute, and it’s a challenge. There is homage, and there is revenge. For Cruz, the competitor, it’s killing him. For Dillashaw, it’s just time.

The only thing left to do is get them in the cage together as soon as possible.

The good news for Renan Barao is that he won’t have to face T.J. Dillashaw again. In his “just for good measure” rematch with the current bantamweight champ he was stormed, looted, picked apart, cut into neat lines and then blown into a cloud of particles by the speedier, far more confident Dillashaw. It was a competitive fight for a little bit (if you squinted), then it became laughable. Dillashaw was styling on Barao by the end of the first round in Chicago, keeping his hands down around his belt loops, looking more like a playground taunt than a man in danger of losing his title.

By the fourth round, he landed something like 25 (but as many as 27) unanswered shots on Barao, as the one-time king of the division collapsed in on himself along the fence. There’s emphasis in that kind of onslaught. Especially when it happens on broadcast television, where the virginal eyes of casuals were free to grow as big as saucers.

And this was one of those fights that sends people on their way, careening into very different futures. Barao, who has struggled to make the 135-pound minimum for a long time, can bulk up a bit and move on to featherweight, where words like “reinvention” can be thrown at him. He’s only 28 years old. This can all be filed away as a “chapter” in his career. He had flirted with the idea of 145 before Dillashaw came along and insisted on the issue. One big win there and the music will return to this step.

As for Dillashaw, Saturday night’s win was a move into the spectrum of true legitimacy as a champion. No knock on the late-replacement Joe Soto at UFC 177, but this was in effect his first real title defense. The once mighty Barao has been vanquished, and now things get interesting in a division that has traditionally lacked imagination. Dillashaw, an alum of The Ultimate Fighter franchise of all things, is now the riddle to be solved.

There are a number of challenges for Dillashaw that carry intrigue, or at very least a back-story. Raphael Assuncao scored a split-decision victory over Dillashaw in 2013 out in Brazil. That’s a rematch that hovers out there, almost obligatorily. With ex/current-coach Duane Ludwig sort of turning Team Alpha Male into a divided house, there’s a potential clash with his longtime teammate (and “Bang” detractor) Urijah Faber. The best fights are family feuds. Then there’s the rematch with the ornery John Dodson, who is still smiling from that time he clubbed Dillashaw to win TUF 14. Dodson is slated to face flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson next, so it’ll have to wait.

And speaking of “Mighty Mouse,” what a fine fight that would be for Dillashaw.

None of these compare, though, to the most compelling fight of all. That would be pitting Dillashaw, who has incrementally gotten better with every showing by becoming a facsimile of Dominick Cruz, against Dominick Cruz himself. Good god, it’s almost too much to contemplate.

Long before there was a Renan Barao with a gold-plated belt, there was Cruz just flummoxing everybody in the weight class with bewitching movement and punch-combo alchemy. His movement was instantaneous and impulsive — like a guppy when the glass gets tapped — and he has the ability to know his opposition better than his opposition knows themselves. He came out of every fight in near mint condition, because he was a mirage in there. Hard to find. Hard to time. Hard to put a finger on. Nearly impossible to hit clean.

Imagine a fight between Cruz and Dillashaw. It would be all footwork, head movement and angle-play, just two guys bending minds in the game of chaos. When Dillashaw lands, Cruz would turn into a figment. When the Cruz lands, Dillashaw turns into the personification of geometry. That’s not just a great fight, that’s a fight with a mile of pure technical intrigue. The kind of fight that would make Joe Rogan lose his sh*t.

Of course, the question is not so much if but when.

Cruz has fought once since 2011, and he’s recovering from (yet another) ACL. It’s been a long time since a man stopped Cruz (which was Faber back in 2007), but he’s been ransacked by injuries and rotten luck. Just like when he returned against Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 178 — whom he blitzed and destroyed in 61 seconds, by the way — we’re not sure in what form Cruz will return. We’re not sure if he’ll be ready to fight at any point in 2015. Dillashaw might have to defend that title again before Cruz is fully ready.

But the one thing that is certain is that Dillashaw is ready for Cruz. Back in the day, it was difficult to find Cruz a suitable dance partner. Such was he gap between him and everybody else. Cruz avenged his loss to Faber and beat Dillashaw’s other TAM training partner Joseph Benavidez twice and “Mighty Mouse” Johnson once. It was Cruz who created the flyweight division. Benavidez and Johnson had no place else to go.

In his absence, Dillashaw has closed the gap. In fact, almost like an ambitious understudy, Dillashaw has become a modern day Cruz. It’s a tribute, and it’s a challenge. There is homage, and there is revenge. For Cruz, the competitor, it’s killing him. For Dillashaw, it’s just time.

The only thing left to do is get them in the cage together as soon as possible.

UFC on FOX 16 bonuses: T.J. Dillashaw scores performance bonus for victory over Renan Barao

If he didn’t convince people he was the real bantamweight champion the first time he beat Renan Barao, T.J. Dillashaw certainly did the second time.
Dillashaw wore down and dominated Barao at UFC on FOX 16 on Saturday night in Chicago to ret…

If he didn’t convince people he was the real bantamweight champion the first time he beat Renan Barao, T.J. Dillashaw certainly did the second time.

Dillashaw wore down and dominated Barao at UFC on FOX 16 on Saturday night in Chicago to retain the 135-pound belt. He finished Barao a round quicker than he did the first time at UFC 173, scoring a fourth-round TKO (strikes) after a barrage that left the Brazilian limp against the fence. If that weren’t enough, Dillashaw also took home a Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts.

It was announced in the post-fight press conference that the 29-year old Team Alpha Male fighter earned $50,000 extra for his dominant showing at the United Center.

Also taking home a performance bonus was Tom Lawlor, who was making return to the light heavyweight division. Lawlor was losing his fight against Gian Villante early — getting taken apart with leg kicks — but scored a one-punch, come-from-behind knockout in the second round. Lawlor, who last fought at 205 pounds against Kyle Kingsbury in 2008 at The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale, is now 2-0 in that weight class. He went 4-4 as a middleweight in the UFC.

The Fight of the Night bonus went to Paul Felder and Edson Barboza, who engaged in a memorable stand-up war in which both fighters had their moments with spinning kicks, fists and plenty of leather trades. In the end, the judges saw it for the Brazilian, who improves to 16-3.

Barboza dealt Felder the first loss of his professional career. He is now 10-1.

Each were awarded $50,000 for their efforts.

FON Barboza-Felder Performances: Dillashaw and Lawlor.