If Barao goes out and stops Faber, he’s probably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Well that was fast.
Barao, who is currently ranked #6 pound-for-pound on the UFC’s much-maligned rankings system, will catapult himself past the likes of Chris Weidman, Jon Jones, and Cain Velasquez should he defeat a guy he’s already beaten before. In what will officially be considered his first title win at 135 lbs. That’s the takeaway here.
(White, seen here wearing the pound-for-pound best t-shirt from the pound-for-pound best Rocky film of all time. Pound-for-pound.)
If Barao goes out and stops Faber, he’s probably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Well that was fast.
Barao, who is currently ranked #6 pound-for-pound on the UFC’s much-maligned rankings system, will catapult himself past the likes of Chris Weidman, Jon Jones, and Cain Velasquez should he defeat a guy he’s already beaten before. In what will officially be considered his first title win at 135 lbs. That’s the takeaway here.
Look, I’m not going to get upset here, because it’s just one man’s opinion, and White has every right to say it. You could make the case for Barao as the top pound-for-pound fighter given his near ten-year unbeaten streak, I guess, but there’s also this guy named Jon Jones who has actually defended his belt some 6 times (see also: Silva, A. and St. Pierre, G.). Call me crazy, but me thinks this is a classic case of White attempting to oversell a fight that didn’t have that much hype surrounding it the first time around. Which again, swing away, Merrill.
Honestly, this is why pound-for-pound discussions are among the worst things about being an MMA fan. For starters, we all know that that title belongs to Fedor Emelianenko (*dodges brick*), and secondly, the P4P ranking system is one based on hypotheticals, therefore making it little more than a useless marketing tool. Is Barao a better fighter than Weidman, or Jones for that matter? Who the hell knows. They’re never going to face off in the cage and settle it, that’s for sure, so discussing pound-for-pound rankings is ultimately as pointless as debating who would win a fight between Batman and Superman…
After taking the fight on less than a month’s notice, Urijah Faber will step into the main event of UFC 169 (February 1st, Newark) against Renan Barao, who took a definitive and dominant five-round decision over the former WEC stalwart at UFC 149, for what was then supposed to be an interim title in the bantamweight division. With Dominick Cruz vacating his title due to yet another injury, Faber will have his third opportunity to win UFC gold. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much time to prepare for Barao, who’s become one of the toughest outs in all of MMA.
Faber’s year-round commitment to being in near peak condition — a Team Alpha Male requirement, it seems — affords him this luxury of taking a fight on short notice. Over 18 months have passed since the California Kid walked out of the cage against Barao on the losing side, and what could have been Faber’s last UFC title fight has turned into something else entirely. With four wins (and three submission finishes) over highly ranked opponents marking a stellar 2013 campaign, Faber willed himself into title contention one more time by running roughshod over the UFC’s 135-pound division.
With the rematch set, and Faber looking ahead to what could (once again) be his last shot at a UFC belt, one imagines that the Duane “Bang” Ludwig-led Team Alpha Male squad has a much different game plan in mind for Faber against the Brazilian champion. Ludwig, who has spoke of his fondness for watching fight video in preparation, should have five UFC title rematches on his mind while preparing his fighter for next month’s bout. Each of these fights contain profound lessons that could help Faber become the first Team Alpha Male member to hold a UFC championship belt. Let’s begin…
After taking the fight on less than a month’s notice, Urijah Faber will step into the main event of UFC 169 (February 1st, Newark) against Renan Barao, who took a definitive and dominant five-round decision over the former WEC stalwart at UFC 149, for what was then supposed to be an interim title in the bantamweight division. With Dominick Cruz vacating his title due to yet another injury, Faber will have his third opportunity to win UFC gold. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much time to prepare for Barao, who’s become one of the toughest outs in all of MMA.
Faber’s year-round commitment to being in near peak condition — a Team Alpha Male requirement, it seems — affords him this luxury of taking a fight on short notice. Over 18 months have passed since the California Kid walked out of the cage against Barao on the losing side, and what could have been Faber’s last UFC title fight has turned into something else entirely. With four wins (and three submission finishes) over highly ranked opponents marking a stellar 2013 campaign, Faber willed himself into title contention one more time by running roughshod over the UFC’s 135-pound division.
With the rematch set, and Faber looking ahead to what could (once again) be his last shot at a UFC belt, one imagines that the Duane “Bang” Ludwig-led Team Alpha Male squad has a much different game plan in mind for Faber against the Brazilian champion. Ludwig, who has spoke of his fondness for watching fight video in preparation, should have five UFC title rematches on his mind while preparing his fighter for next month’s bout. Each of these fights contain profound lessons that could help Faber become the first Team Alpha Male member to hold a UFC championship belt. Let’s begin…
Considering he probably shouldn’t have been fighting anyway, it wasn’t all that much of a surprise that Cain Velasquez would come out wanting to exchange with Junior Dos Santos during their first meeting at UFC on FOX 1 in November 2011. JDS made him pay for it, giving the champion his first loss and taking his title.
In their rematch a year later, Velasquez came out and pushed a hard pace on Dos Santos from the first minute on. He never let Dos Santos get his footing square or push forward with his boxing-focused game. He kept the champion on his toes and then brutalized him for 25 minutes, imposing his will on the Brazilian and not giving him an inch.
How Faber can apply this: Barao thrives in space and the one thing Faber has to do is cut off the cage, make it close and make it ugly. He has to add a little bit of a grind to this fight, at a minimum, and refuse to give Barao space to utilize his leg kicking game. Faber is excellent in scrambles and grappling exchanges; this is where he’ll win the fight. His strength is on the mat and he needs to make Barao fight here, not on his feet where Barao’s striking ability will trump Faber’s. Faber suffered a broken rib from Barao the first time they fought and Faber is well aware of how hard he throws.
The one marked difference between the first Hughes/Penn fight at UFC 46 and their second fight is that Hughes came out significantly less tentative the second time around. Hughes was noticeably cautious in their first meeting because of Penn’s explosiveness and Penn was able to dictate the fight early. Hughes was on his heels, moving backward, and Penn exploited that into one of the biggest upsets in UFC history to that point. The 2006 rematch was marked by Hughes and his top-position mauling of Penn, which ended in a third-round TKO. Hughes was far more aggressive the second time around, and didn’t let BJ dictate the terms.
How Faber can apply this: Don’t let Barao dictate the striking exchanges. Faber was tentative in their first fight, as Barao pushed the pace and established the tenor of the fight. Faber needs to let his hands go and impose his will, not letting Barao set up his striking game. It’s why Faber lost; he couldn’t get off first and took a ton of damage in the process. He has to tighten up space and impose his skillset, making Barao counter and use movement. Faber’s at his best when he’s able to control where the fight goes, and that’ll be a factor in a Faber victory.
Lyoto Machida was a riddle no one had been able to solve until Shogun Rua. Their first fight at UFC 104, insanely controversial, necessitated an immediate rematch and Rua went from being one round away from a title win to an emphatic KO at UFC 113 because of the 25 minutes they spent together the first time.
Machida’s style is such that it’s nearly impossible to duplicate in training unless you have Machida himself to train with. Rua got the best possible primer for a fight with Machida the first time, having to figure out his movement and timing on the fly. When they fought for the second time, Rua knew how Machida moved and was able to adjust from the first minute on. He wasn’t going to be baffled or confused by Machida’s ability to counter.
Look at the way Rua’s movement changed from the middle of the first fight to the first round of the second. This is someone who has figured out the mystery and knows how to counter it. Rua knew he couldn’t rush in blind and over commit; he needed to cut the cage off and make Machida fight in a smaller area. It’s what led to the KO in the second fight as well.
Rua knew what to expect. The Dragon was no mystery the second time around.
How Faber can apply this: Barao doesn’t fight anything like Machida, but Faber spent 25 minutes with him. He knows how hard the Brazilian phenom punches, kicks, his instinctual movements when defending takedowns, the type of sprawl Barao used on him, etc., in a way that you can only learn from fighting another human being.
There won’t be anything Barao does that will be new to Faber. Faber and Barao know each other fairly well at this point, as 25 minutes locked inside a cage with another person gives you a familiarity with one another that most training experiences can’t provide. It may have been 18 months ago but we’re looking at improved versions of both fighters, not completely new versions of the same fighters. If Faber has an edge coming in it is that Barao has spent a training camp preparing for Dominick Cruz and has to change course with less than a month out.
You can change course this close to a fight and not miss a beat, but a completely different fighter will mean a different game plan, which will be tough to install this close to a fight. Barao may have fought Faber before but he’s spent a camp preparing to take on Cruz. That could mean something. Faber gets to come in and face someone who he’s prepared for once already. He has to cram his planning into a short window but it’s a familiar one.
On the next page: The Spider returns to devastating form, and Frankie Edgar proves it wasn’t a fluke.
The betting line for Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber has been released, with Barao nearly a 3-1 favorite to defend his bantamweight title at UFC 169 next month. That’s unsurprising, considering that Faber is coming into the fight on less than a month’s notice and already has a loss to Barao on his record. What’s interesting is that every other title fight that the UFC currently has scheduled in 2014 is an even bigger mismatch, in terms of gambling odds. Take a look at the numbers below, via BestFightOdds…
UFC 169, February 1st
Renan Barao (-280) vs. Urijah Faber (+220)
Jose Aldo (-624) vs. Ricardo Lamas (+501)
UFC 170, February 22nd
Ronda Rousey (-400) vs. Sara McMann (+318)
UFC 171, March 15th
Johny Hendricks (-387) vs. Robbie Lawler (+323)
UFC 172, April 12th
Jon Jones (-600) vs. Glover Teixeira (+495)
In fact, the only UFC title fight with a slightly closer better line than Barao vs. Faber is Chris Weidman (-255) vs. Vitor Belfort (+195), which hasn’t been tied to a specific event yet. So, which longshot is worth sticking money on? Considering that Lawler and Belfort have the power to change a fight with a single punch/kick, I could think of stupider ways to blow my money than putting small action on those dudes. Your thoughts?
Fun fact: A $2 parlay bet on all six underdogs listed above would net you a hypothetical profit of $11,935.41. Just sayin’.
(Photo via Getty)
The betting line for Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber has been released, with Barao nearly a 3-1 favorite to defend his bantamweight title at UFC 169 next month. That’s unsurprising, considering that Faber is coming into the fight on less than a month’s notice and already has a loss to Barao on his record. What’s interesting is that every other title fight that the UFC currently has scheduled in 2014 is an even bigger mismatch, in terms of gambling odds. Take a look at the numbers below, via BestFightOdds…
UFC 169, February 1st
Renan Barao (-280) vs. Urijah Faber (+220)
Jose Aldo (-624) vs. Ricardo Lamas (+501)
UFC 170, February 22nd
Ronda Rousey (-400) vs. Sara McMann (+318)
UFC 171, March 15th
Johny Hendricks (-387) vs. Robbie Lawler (+323)
UFC 172, April 12th
Jon Jones (-600) vs. Glover Teixeira (+495)
In fact, the only UFC title fight with a slightly closer better line than Barao vs. Faber is Chris Weidman (-255) vs. Vitor Belfort (+195), which hasn’t been tied to a specific event yet. So, which longshot is worth sticking money on? Considering that Lawler and Belfort have the power to change a fight with a single punch/kick, I could think of stupider ways to blow my money than putting small action on those dudes. Your thoughts?
Fun fact: A $2 parlay bet on all six underdogs listed above would net you a hypothetical profit of $11,935.41. Just sayin’.
Per BestFightOdds.com (h/t Tom Ngo at 5thRound.com), now undisputed bantamweight champion Renan Barao is a 3-1 odds-on favorite to defeat top contender Urijah Faber at UFC 169 on February 1.
Barao was slated to face Dominick Cruz to unify the titl…
Barao was slated to face Dominick Cruz to unify the titles and decide the legitimate champion, but Cruz suffered a groin injury and had to vacate his belt. The injury promoted Barao from interim to undisputed champion.
With Cruz falling out, Faber steps in. He will not only get a chance to claim the belt but avenge a loss. At UFC 149 in July 2012, Barao defeated Faber via unanimous decision to claim the interim title.
In their first bout, Faber suffered a rib injury in the first round and saw his movement limited further by a stiff leg-kick attack from Barao. The Brazilian utilized good movement and distance to win four out of five rounds on two judges’ scorecards and five out of five on the other.
Now, Faber is on a four-fight win streak (with three by submission), posting victories over Ivan Menjivar, Scott Jorgensen, IuriAlcantara and Michael McDonald. Barao has only fought twice since UFC 149, defeating Michael McDonald by submission and then Eddie Wineland via a beautiful TKO at UFC 165 in September.
Faber will have a short training camp for this bout; he last fought on December 13. His bout with Barao will mark his third attempt at a UFC title.
UFC 169 will take place on February 1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
(“That’s UFC Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz leading today’s pack…wait a minute…he appears to be veering off the track and…yep, he’s headed for the medical tent. This cannot be good, ladies and gentlemen.” Photo via Getty.)
Dominick Cruz is injured. A–G–A–I–N. Groin tear this time. He has vacated the bantamweight title (a lot of that going around lately…) and in his absence, interim champion Renan Barao has been promoted to undisputed champ and will rematch Urijah Faber at UFC 169 with his first official defense on the line. The announcement was made by Dana White on Sportscenter at 4:30 EST.
Faber will be fighting on less than a month’s notice. It should be noted that the last time these two met, the result was the worst card of the year.
All things considered, I’m kind of excited for this. No, seriously. It’s not just that my New Year’s Resolution was to be less cynical (also, stop waking up naked in cornfields with blood on my hands). This has been a long time coming for Cruz.
(“That’s UFC Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz leading today’s pack…wait a minute…he appears to be veering off the track and…yep, he’s headed for the medical tent. This cannot be good, ladies and gentlemen.” Photo via Getty.)
Dominick Cruz is injured. A–G–A–I–N. Groin tear this time. He has vacated the bantamweight title (a lot of that going around lately…) and in his absence, interim champion Renan Barao has been promoted to undisputed champ and will rematch Urijah Faber at UFC 169 with his first official defense on the line. The announcement was made by Dana White on Sportscenter at 4:30 EST.
Faber will be fighting on less than a month’s notice. It should be noted that the last time these two met, the result was the worst card of the year.
All things considered, I’m kind of excited for this. No, seriously. It’s not just that my New Year’s Resolution was to be less cynical (also, stop waking up naked in cornfields with blood on my hands). This has been a long time coming for Cruz.
“The Dominator” hasn’t fought in over two years. He’s had multiple knee and hand surgeries, which were the pillars of his footwork-heavy, technical boxing attack. We never got to see Cruz attempt to solve the puzzle Barao presented — and I can’t imagine we ever will given Cruz’s paper legs — which feels like an injustice, but it’d be hard to see Cruz returning from such a long layoff without ring rust playing a factor. Then would come the inevitable and mind-numbing discussion regarding said ring rust, cheapening whatever victory Cruz could possibly take away from the fight to begin with.
At least the bantamweight division has finally been freed from its two year purgatory, I guess.
And you know what, Faber looked like a man reborn in 2013, so maybe he’ll give Barao a handful this time around. Yeah! Since he got his ass (rib) so thoroughly handed to him in their first encounter, he’ll surely know what gameplan to bring this time around. ALRIGHT! YEAH!! LET’S DO THIS, FABER! USA! USA!!
Dominick Cruz suffered a groin tear that forced him out of his UFC 169 title fight against Renan Barao.
In Cruz’s place, Team Alpha Male product Urijah Faber will challenge Barao on the Feb. 1 card, according to MMAFighting.com.
The UFC’s o…
Dominick Cruz suffered a groin tear that forced him out of his UFC 169 title fight against Renan Barao.
In Cruz’s place, Team Alpha Male product Urijah Faber will challenge Barao on the Feb. 1 card, according to MMAFighting.com.
Cruz—who has not fought since October 2011 due to a variety of injuries—had to cough up his bantamweight title after this latest setback. As a result, Barao is now the official, undisputed 135-pound champion.
To fill the void left by Cruz, the UFC 169 main attraction will now feature “The California Kid,” winner of four straight dating back to February 2013.
Losing Cruz to injury (again) is unfortunate for the UFC and its fans, but Faber represents a solid draw and a polarizing figure within the sport. His most recent win—a second-round guillotine choke over Michael McDonald at UFC on Fox 9—was utterly dominant, and it convinced the UFC brass to give him a shot at the title.
Faber has previously challenged for the bantamweight belt inside the Octagon on two occasions. First, he lost to Cruz at UFC 132 in July 2011.
After a quick victory over Brian Bowles at UFC 139, he again fought for the title at UFC 149 in June 2012—this time against Barao for the interim bantamweight championship. Barao won that fight in convincing fashion, cruising to a unanimous decision and solidifying himself as the top challenger to Cruz’s official title.
Now, Faber and Barao will again face off with title implications on the line—this time for the undisputed championship.
Both men have gone undefeated since their UFC 149 encounter, with Barao posting a 2-0 record with two finishes and Faber going 4-0 with three finishes.
Needless to say, both men are operating near peak levels, and the UFC 169 showdown promises fireworks between two of the promotion’s finest athletes.
Dominick Cruz suffered a groin tear that forced him out of his