Renan Barao entered his bout with Urijah Faber at UFC 149 riding an almost unparalleled 29-fight undefeated streak.
He left with an even better streak of 30 fights without a loss.
Coming into the bout, many fans and critics alike wondered if Barao’s record was legitimate or if it was the product of fighting lesser fighters in less-established organizations.
After definitively beating Urijah Faber, one of the sport’s best fighters for what seems like an eternity, we have our answer.
Renan Barao is for real, and he is in the UFC’s bantamweight division to stay.
To any hardcore fan, a streak of defeating 29 straight opponents should never have the word “fluke” attached to it.
This is, after all, MMA, and there are literally hundreds of ways to win (and lose) a fight. It takes only one second of lethargy or one sloppy punch, and a fighter can find himself unconscious with a doctor’s flashlight in his eyes.
This never happened to Barao for the better part of seven years, but since his opponents had little name recognition, many refused to believe his legitimacy as an elite bantamweight.
After destroying Faber and refusing to allow “The California Kid” to do anything of significance, Barao justified his long winning streak and put to rest claims that he was anything short of a spectacular fighter.
In defeating Urijah Faber at UFC 149, many might feel as though Renan Barao has finally shown something impressive and finally put himself on the map.
The reality, though, is that the 25-year-old bantamweight has been doing this for more than one-quarter of his life. Fighting, and winning, is a part of him, and now we can all clearly see this reality.
The future is blindingly bright for Renan Barao, but after destroying opponents for almost a decade, he is already accustomed to the heat.
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