Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland will compete for the interim bantamweight title at UFC 165. Hopefully, the winner will meet long-injured champion Dominick Cruz early in 2014.
While Barao has been dominant in the 135-pound class, defeating Urijah Faber to become the interim titleholder and submitting Michael McDonald to defend his belt, the Brazilian’s performances have been somewhat overshadowed by the absence of fellow champion Cruz.
Battling setbacks from a knee injury, Cruz has not fought since his October 2011 win over now-flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
Even with Cruz’s lengthy absence from competition, a title-merging fight between Barao and Cruz is highly intriguing. Barao must first get past Wineland, though, so here is a look at how he matches up against his 29-year-old challenger.