A bantamweight matchup was announced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship for their upcoming UFC 143 event pitting Brazilian fighter Renan Barão (27-1, 1NC), the owner of one of the longest undefeated streaks in the sport, versus former WEC 135-pound contender Scott ‘Young Guns’ Jorgensen (13-4).
The promotion made the match official Thursday night at UFC.com.
Also on that card, two of the world’s best bantamweights have verbally agreed to meet: Scott Jorgensen will battle Renan Barao, who hasn’t lost in his last 30 fights – the longest unbeaten streak in the sport,
UFC 143 is expected to take place on February 4th at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and will be headlined by an interim welterweight title bout between Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz.
Barão is on a twenty-eight fight undefeated streak, having lost just one fight in his career that being his first pro-match back in April 2005. Currently as a UFC fighter, Barão has won both of his Octagon appearances, as well as two in the WEC. He debuted last May at UFC 130, earning a unanimous decision over Cole Escovedo and then went on to submit Brad Pickett at UFC 138 last November.
Jorgensen is making his way back up the bantamweight ladder having won two straight since losing to Dominick Cruz at WEC 53 in a bantamweight title match. ‘Young Guns’ is 7-1 in his last eight matches which includes two UFC appearances. Most recently he earned a unanimous decision at UFC 137 over Jeff Curran and won his debut by knockout at the TUF 13 Finale against Ken Stone.
This is an interesting fight that could put either fighter close to title contention in the bantamweight division. With the upcoming announcement of the flyweight class, and the likely departure of several key fighters, this bout could almost determine a #1 contender.