Edson Barboza improved to 9-2 in the UFC with a unanimous decision victory over Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night 57, but Green wasn’t the original opponent the UFC wanted next for the Brazilian lightweight.
Barboza, who was coming off a first-round knockout over Evan Dunham in July, was offered a fight with Nate Diaz. The Brazilian lightweight accepted the challenge, but Diaz declined.
“He was supposed to fight Nate Diaz, but Nate didn’t accept the fight,” Barboza’s manager Alex Davis told MMAFighting.com.
With five wins over the past six bouts after beating Green, Barboza and his team won’t call anyone out.
“We won’t look to opponents now,” Davis said. “We have to beat anyone they put in front of us. Whatever they do, we will fight and win. We won’t call this or that guy out.”
Nate Diaz, who returns to the Octagon against Rafael dos Anjos on Dec. 13, could be one of the options for Barboza if he beats dos Anjos.
“There’s Rafael dos Anjos vs. Nate Diaz and a few other good fights now, so (Barboza) should fight the winner of one of them next,” Davis said. “I think that (Diaz) would be an interesting fight to promote Barboza in the media because (Barboza) doesn’t talk too much, so a fight with Nate Diaz would be good in that sense, but Bobby Green was also a great fight.
“There are many guys in this division, many tough fights,” he continued. “We’ll have (Gilbert) Melendez vs. (Anthony) Pettis now, and there’s (Khabib) Nurmagomedov, (Abel) Trujillo and many other fighters, and (Barboza) can beat every single one of them.”
Donald Cerrone and Jamie Varner are the only fighters who handed Barboza defeats in his MMA career, and Davis believes that the Brazilian contender has made the changes he needed in order to become a high-level MMA fighter.
“He got all the pieces together,” Davis said. “He lives in Florida and trains at American Top Team, and then he goes to New Jersey to sharpen his weapons with Mark Henry, Ricardo ‘Cachorrao’ (Almeida) and Anderson Franca, my son in law, and that is working perfectly. When he’s off camp, he’s training hard at ATT, and then he does specific training in Jersey.
“I believe he has everything to become the UFC lightweight champion. I know what he’s capable of. He became a top MMA fighter, and this is the best moment of his career. I’m really confident.”
Edson Barboza improved to 9-2 in the UFC with a unanimous decision victory over Bobby Green at UFC Fight Night 57, but Green wasn’t the original opponent the UFC wanted next for the Brazilian lightweight.
Barboza, who was coming off a first-round knockout over Evan Dunham in July, was offered a fight with Nate Diaz. The Brazilian lightweight accepted the challenge, but Diaz declined.
“He was supposed to fight Nate Diaz, but Nate didn’t accept the fight,” Barboza’s manager Alex Davis told MMAFighting.com.
With five wins over the past six bouts after beating Green, Barboza and his team won’t call anyone out.
“We won’t look to opponents now,” Davis said. “We have to beat anyone they put in front of us. Whatever they do, we will fight and win. We won’t call this or that guy out.”
Nate Diaz, who returns to the Octagon against Rafael dos Anjos on Dec. 13, could be one of the options for Barboza if he beats dos Anjos.
“There’s Rafael dos Anjos vs. Nate Diaz and a few other good fights now, so (Barboza) should fight the winner of one of them next,” Davis said. “I think that (Diaz) would be an interesting fight to promote Barboza in the media because (Barboza) doesn’t talk too much, so a fight with Nate Diaz would be good in that sense, but Bobby Green was also a great fight.
“There are many guys in this division, many tough fights,” he continued. “We’ll have (Gilbert) Melendez vs. (Anthony) Pettis now, and there’s (Khabib) Nurmagomedov, (Abel) Trujillo and many other fighters, and (Barboza) can beat every single one of them.”
Donald Cerrone and Jamie Varner are the only fighters who handed Barboza defeats in his MMA career, and Davis believes that the Brazilian contender has made the changes he needed in order to become a high-level MMA fighter.
“He got all the pieces together,” Davis said. “He lives in Florida and trains at American Top Team, and then he goes to New Jersey to sharpen his weapons with Mark Henry, Ricardo ‘Cachorrao’ (Almeida) and Anderson Franca, my son in law, and that is working perfectly. When he’s off camp, he’s training hard at ATT, and then he does specific training in Jersey.
“I believe he has everything to become the UFC lightweight champion. I know what he’s capable of. He became a top MMA fighter, and this is the best moment of his career. I’m really confident.”
Cris Cyborg would have been making her bantamweight debut at Invicta FC 10 on Friday, but an ankle injury forced her off the Dec. 5 card. For her next bout, she will be competing at 145 pounds.
Cyborg became the first Invicta FC featherweight champion with a fourth-round TKO victory over Marloes Coenen in July 13, 2013, and has yet to defend her title.
“I haven’t fought in a long time. With this injury, I believe the best option now will be fight in my division,” Cyborg told MMAFighting.com. “I can’t wait anymore, I need to fight. I’m the featherweight champion and Invicta FC needs me to defend my belt.”
Undefeated since 2005, Cyborg expects to get back in action in February.
“I believe I will be ready to fight in February. I’m slowly returning to training, so I won’t get injured again,” she said. “I’m swimming and doing physical therapy since I got back from Thailand. My physical therapist Ivan Carmosino will clear me to train soon.”
Returning at 145 pounds means Cyborg won’t need to cut the same amount of weight she was cutting for Invicta FC 10, but it won’t be easy.
The Brazilian brawler said she still had 28 pounds to lose to make weight at bantamweight one month prior to the planned bout on Dec. 5. To fight at 145 pounds, she will have to work hard as well.
“Before I got injured, I was around 162 pounds with 12 percent body fat,” Cyborg said. “The weight cut is already tough for my division (at 145). I need to do a long work, and that’s why I prefer not to wait much longer and fight in my division.
“I need this motivation. I love to fight. Keeping me at home without a fight is the same to offer candy to a kid and then take it away. That’s why I’m always competing in other martial arts. That keeps me motivated to train and helps me learn even more.”
Cris Cyborg would have been making her bantamweight debut at Invicta FC 10 on Friday, but an ankle injury forced her off the Dec. 5 card. For her next bout, she will be competing at 145 pounds.
Cyborg became the first Invicta FC featherweight champion with a fourth-round TKO victory over Marloes Coenen in July 13, 2013, and has yet to defend her title.
“I haven’t fought in a long time. With this injury, I believe the best option now will be fight in my division,” Cyborg told MMAFighting.com. “I can’t wait anymore, I need to fight. I’m the featherweight champion and Invicta FC needs me to defend my belt.”
Undefeated since 2005, Cyborg expects to get back in action in February.
“I believe I will be ready to fight in February. I’m slowly returning to training, so I won’t get injured again,” she said. “I’m swimming and doing physical therapy since I got back from Thailand. My physical therapist Ivan Carmosino will clear me to train soon.”
Returning at 145 pounds means Cyborg won’t need to cut the same amount of weight she was cutting for Invicta FC 10, but it won’t be easy.
The Brazilian brawler said she still had 28 pounds to lose to make weight at bantamweight one month prior to the planned bout on Dec. 5. To fight at 145 pounds, she will have to work hard as well.
“Before I got injured, I was around 162 pounds with 12 percent body fat,” Cyborg said. “The weight cut is already tough for my division (at 145). I need to do a long work, and that’s why I prefer not to wait much longer and fight in my division.
“I need this motivation. I love to fight. Keeping me at home without a fight is the same to offer candy to a kid and then take it away. That’s why I’m always competing in other martial arts. That keeps me motivated to train and helps me learn even more.”
Grappling wizard Fabricio Werdum knocked out K-1 champion Mark Hunt to win the UFC interim heavyweight championship in Mexico at UFC 180 on Nov. 15, and the flying knee that ended the bout was one of “Vai Cavalo’s” secret weapons for Hunt.
“Everything was planned and trained,” Werdum told MMAFighting.com. “Master Rafael Cordeiro taught me move that one day. I asked him ‘master, can I do this in the fight?’ And he said ‘you must do this in the fight.’
“Mark Hunt knew I was going to try to take him down, and I was shooting for ankle picks to avoid his uppercuts. I tried it once and twice, and he thought I would try one more time, so I threw the knee. He was expecting the takedown and was ready to throw the uppercut, when he realized I threw the knee it was too late for him to cover up.”
Going for ankle picks instead of more traditional takedowns was a strategy to stay away from Hunt’s knockout power.
“I was doing a lot of takedown defense for Velasquez, and I had to change it to shoot for takedowns instead when they changed my opponent,” Werdum said. “(Kelvin) Gastelum was training there with us, Orlando (Sanchez) and a lot of great coaches, so I started working on ankle picks, Sakuraba style, to avoid Hunt’s uppercuts. I knew he would be waiting for that.”
According to the Brazilian, Hunt gave up as soon as he landed the knee.
“When I landed the knee, it was great. The arena was sold out, 24 thousand fans screaming, and I knew he was hurt,” he said. “He asked (the referee) to stop the fight as soon as he went down. He said ‘stop, stop, stop,’ but the referee didn’t hear. Everything happened so fast. The referee didn’t hear that, so I kept punching until he ended the fight.”
The championship win didn’t come easy, though. Hunt dropped Werdum twice in the bout, and the Brazilian wasn’t able to do much when he had “Super Samoan” in his guard. However, according to “Vai Cavalo,” it looked worse from the outside.
“He landed the first punch and I went down, but I don’t think it was a knockdown because I wasn’t hurt at all,” Werdum said. “I didn’t feel dizzy. I just felt the impact and went down. I went back up right away. I never thought for a moment I was going to lose. The second time he caught me, same thing. He waited for the right moment to counter my kicks, but I wasn’t hurt. I tried to pull guard, but he ran away, so I went back up again.”
“I wanted to work for triangles, armbars and kimuras, but I was so close to the fence I had no space,” he continued. “He did the right thing to avoid my submissions, but that ended up being perfect because I felt him getting tired by keeping me close to the fence. I trained that position a lot with (Rubens Charles) ‘Cobrinha’, and (Hunt) couldn’t hit me there. He wasn’t comfortable either.”
Leading up to his UFC 180 fight, Werdum told Ariel Helwani he would only be able to compare wining the UFC championship to tapping Fedor Emelianenko after the fight. Now that both fights are in the past, which one was the best?
“This fight was very special, winning a title like that, and I still want to fight Velasquez next, but Fedor was unique,” Werdum said. “The big question was ‘who beat Fedor?’, so we say both are really important to me.”
Werdum now looks to unify the heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez in 2015, and he expects to face the AKA star at UFC 188.
“I believe it’s going to be June 13 in Mexico,” he said. “It’s a good date. I will have time to rest. I hope he recovers in time to do this fight. We have to fight. He’s the champion, I’m the interim champion. We have to fight.”
Most of the UFC interim heavyweight champions failed to win when trying to unify belts, and that’s one of the reasons why many fans don’t see interim titleholders as real champions. “Vai Cavalo” isn’t bothered.
“Many people talk about it, but it’s normal,” Werdum said. “I was ready to fight Velasquez, Hunt or anybody else they wanted. I was there. If the champion can’t fight because of an injury, it’s not my fault. It happens in this sport. It’s normal. But I feel I’m the champion, of course.”
Grappling wizard Fabricio Werdum knocked out K-1 champion Mark Hunt to win the UFC interim heavyweight championship in Mexico at UFC 180 on Nov. 15, and the flying knee that ended the bout was one of “Vai Cavalo’s” secret weapons for Hunt.
“Everything was planned and trained,” Werdum told MMAFighting.com. “Master Rafael Cordeiro taught me move that one day. I asked him ‘master, can I do this in the fight?’ And he said ‘you must do this in the fight.’
“Mark Hunt knew I was going to try to take him down, and I was shooting for ankle picks to avoid his uppercuts. I tried it once and twice, and he thought I would try one more time, so I threw the knee. He was expecting the takedown and was ready to throw the uppercut, when he realized I threw the knee it was too late for him to cover up.”
Going for ankle picks instead of more traditional takedowns was a strategy to stay away from Hunt’s knockout power.
“I was doing a lot of takedown defense for Velasquez, and I had to change it to shoot for takedowns instead when they changed my opponent,” Werdum said. “(Kelvin) Gastelum was training there with us, Orlando (Sanchez) and a lot of great coaches, so I started working on ankle picks, Sakuraba style, to avoid Hunt’s uppercuts. I knew he would be waiting for that.”
According to the Brazilian, Hunt gave up as soon as he landed the knee.
“When I landed the knee, it was great. The arena was sold out, 24 thousand fans screaming, and I knew he was hurt,” he said. “He asked (the referee) to stop the fight as soon as he went down. He said ‘stop, stop, stop,’ but the referee didn’t hear. Everything happened so fast. The referee didn’t hear that, so I kept punching until he ended the fight.”
The championship win didn’t come easy, though. Hunt dropped Werdum twice in the bout, and the Brazilian wasn’t able to do much when he had “Super Samoan” in his guard. However, according to “Vai Cavalo,” it looked worse from the outside.
“He landed the first punch and I went down, but I don’t think it was a knockdown because I wasn’t hurt at all,” Werdum said. “I didn’t feel dizzy. I just felt the impact and went down. I went back up right away. I never thought for a moment I was going to lose. The second time he caught me, same thing. He waited for the right moment to counter my kicks, but I wasn’t hurt. I tried to pull guard, but he ran away, so I went back up again.”
“I wanted to work for triangles, armbars and kimuras, but I was so close to the fence I had no space,” he continued. “He did the right thing to avoid my submissions, but that ended up being perfect because I felt him getting tired by keeping me close to the fence. I trained that position a lot with (Rubens Charles) ‘Cobrinha’, and (Hunt) couldn’t hit me there. He wasn’t comfortable either.”
Leading up to his UFC 180 fight, Werdum told Ariel Helwani he would only be able to compare wining the UFC championship to tapping Fedor Emelianenko after the fight. Now that both fights are in the past, which one was the best?
“This fight was very special, winning a title like that, and I still want to fight Velasquez next, but Fedor was unique,” Werdum said. “The big question was ‘who beat Fedor?’, so we say both are really important to me.”
Werdum now looks to unify the heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez in 2015, and he expects to face the AKA star at UFC 188.
“I believe it’s going to be June 13 in Mexico,” he said. “It’s a good date. I will have time to rest. I hope he recovers in time to do this fight. We have to fight. He’s the champion, I’m the interim champion. We have to fight.”
Most of the UFC interim heavyweight champions failed to win when trying to unify belts, and that’s one of the reasons why many fans don’t see interim titleholders as real champions. “Vai Cavalo” isn’t bothered.
“Many people talk about it, but it’s normal,” Werdum said. “I was ready to fight Velasquez, Hunt or anybody else they wanted. I was there. If the champion can’t fight because of an injury, it’s not my fault. It happens in this sport. It’s normal. But I feel I’m the champion, of course.”
Lima told MMAFighting.com that he was expecting to defend his 170-pound title against Paul Daley or Andrey Koreshkov. A week later, Bellator announced he will put his belt on the line against Daley, the British striker, at Bellator 133 on Feb. 27 at the Mohegan Sun in in Uncasville, Connecticut.
“I’m the champion and I will fight whoever they put in front of me,” Lima told MMAFighting.com. “Koreshkov is hurt, so he wouldn’t be ready to fight in February.”
Koreshkov earned a shot at the title after winning the promotion’s last welterweight tournament, but Lima sees the UFC and Strikeforce veteran Daley as the best fight to promote him as champion.
“Daley is a bigger name and has fought in many big promotions, so a win over him would be great for me,” Lima said. “He has fought some of the best fighters in the world in MMA and also at K-1. I’m excited, can’t wait to finally fight him.
“I want to test myself against the best,” he continued. “I believe I can defeat anyone in my weight class. I want the world to recognize my work and what I can do, and everybody will recognize that after this fight.”
Lima (26-5) and Daley (35-13-2) have 38 knockout finishes combined, and the Brazilian won’t shy away from the challenge.
“I’m bigger than many fighters in my division, but I don’t see that as an advantage,” he said. “I don’t think five or 10 pounds makes much of a difference. We’ll see. But if we go to the ground and I’m on top, he’ll feel my weight. I think my jiu-jitsu is better (than his), but I believe a lot in my striking game. I hit hard, and he will go down if I land a good shot. I want to trade punches with him.”
Lima, who won 14 of his past 15 fights, puts his Bellator title on the line for the first time against Daley, and doesn’t rule out moving up to 185 pounds in the future.
“I’ll stay at 170 for now,” he said. “I would never fight another tournament at 170 pounds because I can’t cut weight to fight every month, but fighting every three months is easy. I’ll keep my weight around 200 pounds or lower, so I’ll stay at welterweight. Who knows, one day I can move up if I keep getting bigger.”
Lima told MMAFighting.com that he was expecting to defend his 170-pound title against Paul Daley or Andrey Koreshkov. A week later, Bellator announced he will put his belt on the line against Daley, the British striker, at Bellator 133 on Feb. 27 at the Mohegan Sun in in Uncasville, Connecticut.
“I’m the champion and I will fight whoever they put in front of me,” Lima told MMAFighting.com. “Koreshkov is hurt, so he wouldn’t be ready to fight in February.”
Koreshkov earned a shot at the title after winning the promotion’s last welterweight tournament, but Lima sees the UFC and Strikeforce veteran Daley as the best fight to promote him as champion.
“Daley is a bigger name and has fought in many big promotions, so a win over him would be great for me,” Lima said. “He has fought some of the best fighters in the world in MMA and also at K-1. I’m excited, can’t wait to finally fight him.
“I want to test myself against the best,” he continued. “I believe I can defeat anyone in my weight class. I want the world to recognize my work and what I can do, and everybody will recognize that after this fight.”
Lima (26-5) and Daley (35-13-2) have 38 knockout finishes combined, and the Brazilian won’t shy away from the challenge.
“I’m bigger than many fighters in my division, but I don’t see that as an advantage,” he said. “I don’t think five or 10 pounds makes much of a difference. We’ll see. But if we go to the ground and I’m on top, he’ll feel my weight. I think my jiu-jitsu is better (than his), but I believe a lot in my striking game. I hit hard, and he will go down if I land a good shot. I want to trade punches with him.”
Lima, who won 14 of his past 15 fights, puts his Bellator title on the line for the first time against Daley, and doesn’t rule out moving up to 185 pounds in the future.
“I’ll stay at 170 for now,” he said. “I would never fight another tournament at 170 pounds because I can’t cut weight to fight every month, but fighting every three months is easy. I’ll keep my weight around 200 pounds or lower, so I’ll stay at welterweight. Who knows, one day I can move up if I keep getting bigger.”
Frank Mir has lost four in a row in the UFC, and he has a tough challenge ahead of him. The two-time heavyweight champion will meet Antonio Silva at UFC 184 on Feb. 28, which is a tall order to snap a losing streak that goes back to 2011. The thing is…”Bigfoot” is also desperately looking for the victory.
Silva has gone 0-2-1 in his past three UFC bouts, having lost to current champion Cain Velasquez and resurgent heavyweight Andrei Arlovski, while forcing a majority draw against Mark Hunt. In the latter, Silva tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, which put an asterisk on one of the best fights of the year.
Going winless in four consecutive bouts would be a devastating nosedive for the former UFC title contender. Yet, even with the ramifications being what they are, he’s confident.
“Nobody wants to go through a losing streak like that, so we’re both hungry to get the victory,” Silva told MMAFighting.com. “I always fight better when I’m coming off a loss. That’s my goal for this fight.”
Sllva holds knockout wins over Alistair Overeem and Travis Browne under the UFC banner, and celebrates an opportunity against another former UFC champion.
“I don’t choose opponents — I’m always ready to fight anyone the UFC thinks this is the best fight for me,” he said. “Frank Mir is a former champion and is very popular here in the United States. We’re both coming off a loss and we both need this victory, so it’s going to be a great fight for the fans.”
Like Mir, Silva got involved with martial arts by training jiu-jitsu as a kid, but their MMA records are significantly different. Mir finished nine of his 16 wins via submission, while the Brazilian only scored three submission finishes in 18 MMA wins. Silva is confident he can become the first to tap the former UFC champion, though.
“Of course — that’s what I train for. I have to go in there confident that I can do it,” Silva said. “Nothing is impossible in sports. I have what it takes [to submit him]. I’ve fought great grapplers throughout my whole career and I was never submitted. I’ve fought Werdum, who has the best jiu-jitsu in MMA, so I will be ready for Mir. If I can keep this fight standing, it could be the less complicated way to beat him.
“Frank Mir is originally a grappler, he has a good ground game, but he also has a good stand-up game. I have to be ready for everything. The fight starts standing, but anything can happen in a fight. A high-level athlete has to be ready for any type of situation if he wants to be the champion one day.”
Frank Mir has lost four in a row in the UFC, and he has a tough challenge ahead of him. The two-time heavyweight champion will meet Antonio Silva at UFC 184 on Feb. 28, which is a tall order to snap a losing streak that goes back to 2011. The thing is…”Bigfoot” is also desperately looking for the victory.
Silva has gone 0-2-1 in his past three UFC bouts, having lost to current champion Cain Velasquez and resurgent heavyweight Andrei Arlovski, while forcing a majority draw against Mark Hunt. In the latter, Silva tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, which put an asterisk on one of the best fights of the year.
Going winless in four consecutive bouts would be a devastating nosedive for the former UFC title contender. Yet, even with the ramifications being what they are, he’s confident.
“Nobody wants to go through a losing streak like that, so we’re both hungry to get the victory,” Silva told MMAFighting.com. “I always fight better when I’m coming off a loss. That’s my goal for this fight.”
Sllva holds knockout wins over Alistair Overeem and Travis Browne under the UFC banner, and celebrates an opportunity against another former UFC champion.
“I don’t choose opponents — I’m always ready to fight anyone the UFC thinks this is the best fight for me,” he said. “Frank Mir is a former champion and is very popular here in the United States. We’re both coming off a loss and we both need this victory, so it’s going to be a great fight for the fans.”
Like Mir, Silva got involved with martial arts by training jiu-jitsu as a kid, but their MMA records are significantly different. Mir finished nine of his 16 wins via submission, while the Brazilian only scored three submission finishes in 18 MMA wins. Silva is confident he can become the first to tap the former UFC champion, though.
“Of course — that’s what I train for. I have to go in there confident that I can do it,” Silva said. “Nothing is impossible in sports. I have what it takes [to submit him]. I’ve fought great grapplers throughout my whole career and I was never submitted. I’ve fought Werdum, who has the best jiu-jitsu in MMA, so I will be ready for Mir. If I can keep this fight standing, it could be the less complicated way to beat him.
“Frank Mir is originally a grappler, he has a good ground game, but he also has a good stand-up game. I have to be ready for everything. The fight starts standing, but anything can happen in a fight. A high-level athlete has to be ready for any type of situation if he wants to be the champion one day.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Renan Barao had the chance to regain his UFC title in August, but passed out while cutting weight for his UFC 177 main event with T.J. Dillashaw. Four months later, the Nova Uniao fighter returns to the Octagon against Mitch Gagnon, and he’s implementing some changes for his pre-fight routine.
The former UFC bantamweight champion — who was riding a 33-fight unbeaten streak until losing his belt to the heavy underdog Dillashaw at UFC 173 — Barao has always struggled to make 135 pounds dead on the money for title fights. That’s why he says he’s decided to cut junk food from his menu.
“It’s never easy to make weight, but I’m fine, thank God,” Barao said. “I’m controlling my weight earlier this time [around], and I’m doing really well. Everything will be fine. I changed a lot of things. I’m controlling my food now, eating more balanced meals. I stopped eating things like pizza and pasta.”
Fighting in Brazil for the first time since 2010 makes his job easier too, he says — not having to travel to a far-off destination.
“I think it’s easier to make weight in Brazil, I’m used to the weather and everything,” Barao said. “It’s going to be a lot easier this time.”
Barao meets Gagnon in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 58 in Barueri on Dec. 20, and — despite Gagnon’s relatively anonymous bearing in the bantamweight standings — he wasn’t bothered by the fact that he isn’t facing a top-10 opponent.
“I don’t pick opponents — I will go in there and fight whoever the UFC wants,” he said. “I hear people saying he’s not very popular, but he’s a tough guy and has great submissions. He has five fights and three submissions in the UFC, so he’s a good grappler.”
Gagnon is 4-1 in the UFC with three submission finishes, but Barao — a jiu-jitsu black belt under Andre Pederneiras and Jair Lourenco — has tapped 14 opponents throughout his MMA career, including the likes of Michael McDonald, Brad Pickett and Chris Cariaso.
“I train with the best grapplers in the world,” Barao said, “so I will be ready to bring this victory to Brazil.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Renan Barao had the chance to regain his UFC title in August, but passed out while cutting weight for his UFC 177 main event with T.J. Dillashaw. Four months later, the Nova Uniao fighter returns to the Octagon against Mitch Gagnon, and he’s implementing some changes for his pre-fight routine.
The former UFC bantamweight champion — who was riding a 33-fight unbeaten streak until losing his belt to the heavy underdog Dillashaw at UFC 173 — Barao has always struggled to make 135 pounds dead on the money for title fights. That’s why he says he’s decided to cut junk food from his menu.
“It’s never easy to make weight, but I’m fine, thank God,” Barao said. “I’m controlling my weight earlier this time [around], and I’m doing really well. Everything will be fine. I changed a lot of things. I’m controlling my food now, eating more balanced meals. I stopped eating things like pizza and pasta.”
Fighting in Brazil for the first time since 2010 makes his job easier too, he says — not having to travel to a far-off destination.
“I think it’s easier to make weight in Brazil, I’m used to the weather and everything,” Barao said. “It’s going to be a lot easier this time.”
Barao meets Gagnon in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 58 in Barueri on Dec. 20, and — despite Gagnon’s relatively anonymous bearing in the bantamweight standings — he wasn’t bothered by the fact that he isn’t facing a top-10 opponent.
“I don’t pick opponents — I will go in there and fight whoever the UFC wants,” he said. “I hear people saying he’s not very popular, but he’s a tough guy and has great submissions. He has five fights and three submissions in the UFC, so he’s a good grappler.”
Gagnon is 4-1 in the UFC with three submission finishes, but Barao — a jiu-jitsu black belt under Andre Pederneiras and Jair Lourenco — has tapped 14 opponents throughout his MMA career, including the likes of Michael McDonald, Brad Pickett and Chris Cariaso.
“I train with the best grapplers in the world,” Barao said, “so I will be ready to bring this victory to Brazil.”