The rapid, ever-changing landscape of MMA becomes all too real with the mere mention of former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao.
Around this time last year, the Brazilian world-beater was widely considered one of the best fighters in the world. UFC President Dana White even went out on a limb, calling him the No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter behind then-light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.
The excessive hype behind one of Nova Uniao’s top fighter’s didn’t feel the least bit overblown at the time. With a stoic look on his face, Barao effortlessly eviscerated 22 opponents in a row without showing so much as a chink in his armor—until UFC 173.
T.J. Dillashaw, the runner-up from The Ultimate Fighter 14, became the unlikeliest of contenders to foil Barao’s reign of dominance. A chink in the armor no longer needed to be found. Barao’s vulnerability to Dillashaw’s shifty footwork and underrated kickboxing led to one of the most surprising upsets in UFC history.
Since the fifth-round TKO loss, Barao has patiently waited for an opportunity to not only recapture the throne but get back at Dillashaw. The two were slated to fight at UFC 177, but the bout was scrapped a day out, when Barao was hospitalized after attempting to cut weight.
Dillashaw went on to score a fifth-round knockout over last-minute opponent Joe Soto, a former Bellator featherweight champ.
“T.J. Dillashaw had one defense of the title and he thinks he’s the best champion in the world,” Barao said through an interpreter at a media scrum, according to MMAFighting.com.
Barao has spoken more in the past year than he has in an entire decade of fighting. This newfound rivalry turned ugly the moment White wrapped the UFC title around Dillashaw’s waist. At the UFC 177 weigh-ins, Dillashaw accused Barao of being “scared” and not really wanting the rematch.
The rematch was once again rescheduled for UFC 186 on April 25, but Dillashaw was forced to withdraw from the bout after sustaining a broken rib during training. With the rematch now penned for July 25, Barao hopes to prove the first fight was a fluke that never should have happened:
“I looked in his eyes just to tell him, ‘I will kick your ass.’ I don’t like him, because he talks a lot of s–t. He’s not a champion—he’s a joker,” said Barao.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He also is the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
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