Tag: Renan Barao

3 Bantamweight Title Fights We’d Have Preferred over Dillashaw vs. Barao Rematch

At UFC 173 T.J. Dillashaw put on a scientific performance against Renan Barao, dominating the former champion for almost an entire five rounds before putting him away in the middle of the last round. Barao was thought to be unbeatable, and Dillashaw be…

At UFC 173 T.J. Dillashaw put on a scientific performance against Renan Barao, dominating the former champion for almost an entire five rounds before putting him away in the middle of the last round. Barao was thought to be unbeatable, and Dillashaw beat him with near-impunity.

The rematch is set for the main event of UFC 177 on August 30, but there are other fights that may have been a better option for Dillashaw’s first bantamweight title defense. Because of Barao’s previous 33-fight unbeaten streak, he is definitely deserving of a rematch. But after such a one-sided first fight, it would be smart if Barao took on someone else and rematched Dillashaw coming off of a win.  

The top of the UFC’s bantamweight division is vibrant, and there is no shortage of interesting fights for both Dillashaw or Barao. Dominick Cruz is jumping back into the fray at UFC 178, Raphael Assuncao and Brian Caraway have been booked opposite one another in October, and there’s always Urijah Faber, who is looking to return at the end of the year.

With so many viable contenders in the bantamweight division, there were numerous fighters Dillashaw could have faced in his first fight as champion. Here are three fights that would have been preferable over the Dillashaw vs. Barao immediate rematch.

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Friday Links: Matt Brown Drops an R-Bomb (?), Vitor Belfort Goes Hard on Instagram, The Rock Smacks Down Bullies + More


(Our friend Georgie wrote a “Hot Mess Guide” to surviving the summer, and it’s awesome, and you should all read it here.)

Video: Despite Best Effort, UFC on FOX 12’s Matt Brown Puts Foot in Mouth Again (MMAJunkie)

That’s Not How You Cut a Promo, Vitor… (CP Twitter)

…Okay, That’s a Little Better (MMAFighting)

Report: MMA Fighter Cleared of Jan. 1 Homicide Charge in New Mexico (Sherdog)

Corissa Furr to Guest Ring Card for Bellator Tonight; #SPIKEFORCE Transformation Continues (BabesofMMA)

Renan Barao Says He Woke Up in the Locker Room at UFC 173 (BleacherReport)

30 Femme Fatales That You’d Totally Love To Get Your Ass Kicked By (AskMen)

Screen Junkies Show: The Rock Smacks Down High School Bully (ScreenJunkies)

10 Cutest Kids in Cosplay (Mommyish)

Video: Joe Moravsky Breaks ‘American Ninja Warrior’ Course, Sets Record Time (Radass)

The 50 Funniest Caucasian Gangster Photos Of All Time (WorldwideInterweb)

Interview: Cali Carter Discusses the Highs and Lows of Porn Life (EveryJoe)

The 20 Dumbest Criminals of All Time (PopHangover)

3 People You Always Meet in MMORPGs (DoubleViking)

Amusing Catfight Goes Next Level With Greatest Moment in GIF History (Guyism)


(Our friend Georgie wrote a “Hot Mess Guide” to surviving the summer, and it’s awesome, and you should all read it here.)

Video: Despite Best Effort, UFC on FOX 12′s Matt Brown Puts Foot in Mouth Again (MMAJunkie)

That’s Not How You Cut a Promo, Vitor… (CP Twitter)

…Okay, That’s a Little Better (MMAFighting)

Report: MMA Fighter Cleared of Jan. 1 Homicide Charge in New Mexico (Sherdog)

Corissa Furr to Guest Ring Card for Bellator Tonight; #SPIKEFORCE Transformation Continues (BabesofMMA)

Renan Barao Says He Woke Up in the Locker Room at UFC 173 (BleacherReport)

30 Femme Fatales That You’d Totally Love To Get Your Ass Kicked By (AskMen)

Screen Junkies Show: The Rock Smacks Down High School Bully (ScreenJunkies)

10 Cutest Kids in Cosplay (Mommyish)

Video: Joe Moravsky Breaks ‘American Ninja Warrior’ Course, Sets Record Time (Radass)

The 50 Funniest Caucasian Gangster Photos Of All Time (WorldwideInterweb)

Interview: Cali Carter Discusses the Highs and Lows of Porn Life (EveryJoe)

The 20 Dumbest Criminals of All Time (PopHangover)

3 People You Always Meet in MMORPGs (DoubleViking)

Amusing Catfight Goes Next Level With Greatest Moment in GIF History (Guyism)

Renan Barao Says He Woke Up in the Locker Room at UFC 173

TJ Dillashaw put on a mesmerizing performance at UFC 173. One person who didn’t get to witness it was the man who was facing Dillashaw in the main event, Renan Barao.
Barao had a media scrum in Brazil that Guilherme Cruz of MMAFight…

TJ Dillashaw put on a mesmerizing performance at UFC 173. One person who didn’t get to witness it was the man who was facing Dillashaw in the main event, Renan Barao.

Barao had a media scrum in Brazil that Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com was able to grab some interesting quotes from.

“I remember everything that happened until that point,” Barao said. “After (that punch), I only woke up in the locker room. The fight was really close in the beginning, but everything changed after that punch.”

The punch Barao mentions is the one landed by Dillashaw in the opening round that floored the Brazilian. Following the knockdown, the former UFC bantamweight champ said he was basically fighting on autopilot.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard of a fighter making it through a rough outing while on autopilot.

Barao also explained that he believes a different result will occur at UFC 177.

“I accepted the fight on short notice and I wasn’t 100 percent ready for it, but this time will be different,” Barao said. “I never trained so hard in my entire life, so it’s going to be different.”

Depending on your view of the UFC 173 clash, this either echoes the fact that Barao didn’t take Dillashaw as a legit contender or seems like an odd excuse. It was Dillashaw stepping in for an injured Raphael Assuncao while Barao should’ve been in the middle of his training camp. Perhaps Barao meant he didn’t have enough time to game-plan, but he shouldn’t have been out of shape.

It’s also shocking to hear that Barao says he doesn’t remember anything after the first knockdown. In the fight against Dillashaw, he still showed signs of life in the second round. He had his moments in the second frame, and despite getting worked over by Dillashaw up until the finish, Barao never seemed to be totally out of it in the way Dos Santos did in his title fight with Cain Velasquez.

But that’s the intrigue the UFC is hoping will turn into pay-per-view buys at UFC 177. Is Dillashaw really as good as he looked at UFC 173? Or was it just a case of Barao not taking a title challenger seriously?

Hopefully MMA fans will have clear answers to those questions following UFC 177 on Aug. 30.

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T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao Rematch Likely Set for UFC 177

T.J. Dillashaw made good on his promise to shock the world like Chris Weidman did against Anderson Silva by defeating Renan Barao, and, like Weidman, he’ll have to do it all over again at UFC 177.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reported on Wednesda…

T.J. Dillashaw made good on his promise to shock the world like Chris Weidman did against Anderson Silva by defeating Renan Barao, and, like Weidman, he’ll have to do it all over again at UFC 177.

MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reported on Wednesday’s episode of UFC Tonight that the UFC was close to booking a bantamweight championship rematch between Dillashaw and Barao. The bout would likely take place on the August 30 fight card in Sacramento.

Dillashaw, who entered the first bout as an 8-1 underdog, made oddsmakers look silly by netting a fifth-round TKO stoppage over Barao. Many considered the Brazilian to be one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but he never had an answer for Dillashaw’s speed and ability to change angles and keep him guessing on the feet.

Dillashaw not only dethroned Barao but also snapped a 32-fight unbeaten streak.

The general consensus is that Dillashaw’s dominance warrants a new opponent, particularly Raphael Assuncao. The Brazilian bantamweight was initially set to contend for the UFC title, and he is the last fighter to record a win over Dillashaw.

But, like every great champion, the UFC appears to be rewarding Barao’s past greatness with an opportunity to hit the rewind button. UFC President Dana White hinted at the rematch during a media scrum in June (h/t BloodyElbow.com):

Tell me if I’m wrong. As we sat there and started looking through the list of guys to fight T.J., how do you not give it to Barao, the guy who was undefeated all those years? I agree he got a five-round a** whooping and got finished, but how does it make sense to not give him the rematch? And who doesn’t want to see it? I want to see it.

Marlon Sandro, Barao’s teammate, recently pinned the loss on the UFC in an elongated rant on Instagram. He called the UFC “crooks” for not giving the former champ ample time to rest and “forcing” him to fight Dillashaw after having just fought Urijah Faber in February.

Will a second time be the charm for Barao? More importantly, does he even deserve it? 

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon. 

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UFC Featherweight Champ Jose Aldo: ‘We Will Get Payback’

Former UFC bantamweight champ Renan Barao and Team Nova Uniao had little to say following the Brazilian’s stunning TKO loss to Team Alpha Male’s T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 173 on May 24 in Las Vegas.
Barao spoke briefly with Joe Rogan in the Octagon fo…

Former UFC bantamweight champ Renan Barao and Team Nova Uniao had little to say following the Brazilian’s stunning TKO loss to Team Alpha Male’s T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 173 on May 24 in Las Vegas.

Barao spoke briefly with Joe Rogan in the Octagon following the setback, before skipping the post-fight press conference to head to a Las Vegas hospital.

It wasn’t until Team Alpha Male posted an antagonizing picture on Instagram that a member of Team Nova Uniao spoke out on the matter.

The Team Alpha Male Instagram photo was posted on May 29 and includes a list of names that would have signed up for in-limbo Team Alpha Male head coach Duane Ludwig’s seminar on May 31. At the bottom of the list, Renan Barao‘s name can be seen scratched out in black marker.

Aldo said the following regarding Barao‘s mental state heading into UFC 173, during an interview with radio show No Mundo da Luta, via MMAFighting.com.

Renan was well prepared, and of course he knew that [Dillashaw] was also well trained, but Dillashaw surprised him. Barao could have been better physically, mentally, everything, but he didn’t expect the way Dillashaw fought. Let’s say Barao was more relaxed than the other fights, he thought he would get in there as the champion, throw a punch and get the knockout. … He didn’t have his feet on the ground, a good head.

Aldo, who brutalized Team Alpha Male founder and Dillashaw‘s mentor, Urijah Faber, at WEC 48 in April 2010, responded to the photo posted on Instagram on May 29.

By their logic, how many times would we have to sign Urijah Faber in an MMA seminar at Nova Uniao? It was lack of respect. We always defeat them, Faber always lost to us and we never did that. We always respected them. We always tried to help them, like when they came here to the gym. We never disrespected them. But it’s cool. Let’s be patient, we will meet again. I have a fight coming up with Chad [Mendes], and Barao, God willing, will fight Dillashaw again and we will get the payback.

Barao handed Faber two of his seven career losses. The former bantamweight champ first defeated “the California Kid” by unanimous decision at UFC 149 in July 2012. He then TKO’d Faber in a controversial bout at UFC 169 in February 2014.

Aldo arguably served Faber the most devastating defeat of his career in their featherweight title fight at WEC 48. Aldo outstruck Faber 77-20 and passed his guard four times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Duane Ludwig Brushes off Marlon Sandro Comments, Says Barao Wont Get Rematch

Team Alpha Male striking coach Duane Ludwig’s name is making headlines left and right after one of his pupils, T.J. Dillashaw, shocked the world and dominated Renan Barao at UFC 173 on Saturday. 
Fans, fighters and analysts alike appear to be…

Team Alpha Male striking coach Duane Ludwig’s name is making headlines left and right after one of his pupils, T.J. Dillashaw, shocked the world and dominated Renan Barao at UFC 173 on Saturday. 

Fans, fighters and analysts alike appear to be split on whether or not “The Baron” deserves an immediate rematch. 

Nova Uniao teammate Marlon Sandro blames the loss on a tough fight schedule that is nearly impossible to keep up with as a UFC champion, but Ludwig isn’t buying that excuse, based on his comments to Bloody Elbow.

“His last fight was with Faber, and it was a fairly quick fight. It’s not like he came out with injuries. It wasn’t like he came from a hard fight straight into another hard fight … I don’t think it’s fair for Barao to get an immediate rematch. That fight wasn’t even close, but then, who else is T.J. going to fight? Who is the Number 1 contender? It’s still Barao. I know he’s gonna need some time to recover, so I doubt he’ll be the next guy to challenge for the belt.”

Prior to getting outstruck and just plain outworked by Dillashaw, Barao boasted an unheard of 33-fight unbeaten streak, including a 7-0 mark inside the Octagon. 

UFC President Dana White hasn’t ruled out the possibility of booking Barao vs. Dillashaw II, but has also acknowledged that contender Raphael Assuncao deserves a crack at the belt, per FOX Sports. 

Dillashaw is 6-1 in his past seven fights, with his sole setback being a highly controversial split decision loss to Assuncao at UFC Fight Night 29 in October. 

Assuncao, the No. 3 bantamweight in the UFC’s official rankings, has been on a tear since dropping down to 135 pounds, winning six consecutive bouts in his new weight class. 

Barao has yet to comment on the stunning TKO loss, but his manager is already calling for a rematch in Brazil at UFC 179 in October, per MMA Fighting. 

Does Barao deserve a chance to prove he had an off night? Or should he go to the back of the line and give other contenders a shot at UFC gold?

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com

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