Tag: UFC 173

TJ Dillashaw shocked the world at UFC 173.

The No. 4-ranked contender was written off before the fight. The confident Team Alpha Male fighter knew something the majority of the world did not. He stepped into the cage and completely dominated Renan Barao for more than four rounds before finishing the fight.

Everything changed in the very first round when Dillashaw dropped the champion.

When Barao fell, the crowd arose. There was a sense that Dillashaw was the real deal, and he could very well upset the champion.

The challenger looked sharp from the get-go. His footwork and head movement were reminiscent of former champion Dominick Cruz. He was fast. Dillashaw was in and out quickly. He attacked up and down with punches and kicks.

It was the perfect send-off for head coach Duane Ludwig, who will now leave Team Alpha Male. His protege perfected the game plan to destroy a top pound-for-pound fighter.

He feinted effectively. Barao looked befuddled at the movement.

Dillashaw connected on Barao, and when the power shot came to floor the Brazilian, the fight looked like it could be over quickly. The champion was able to survive, but Dillashaw stayed within himself not to blow his gas tank going for a finish that was unlikely to happen.

Following the knockdown, Barao was finished.

He never recovered. He looked slow, plodding and like he was thinking too much. Dillashaw had him confused. He was never sure as to what Dillashaw was going to do next. It was a masterful performance that earned Dillashaw a Performance of the Night bonus.

There are not enough adjectives to accurately state how stellar Dillashaw was at UFC 173.

The opening round of the main event was reminiscent of Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia from UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio.

Couture clocked Sylvia with a big shot early in the fight, and Sylvia never recovered. Couture rode out the decision victory, but Dillashaw was able to finish his fight against Barao. It highlights how difficult it is to recover from a devastating knockdown early in a fight and how drastically it can alter a bout.

Even without the knockdown, it was going to be a difficult fight for Barao. That is how on point Dillashaw was on Saturday.

Who knows how this fight plays out if Dillashaw does not land that early knockdown blow. What we do know is that after Dillashaw landed that punch, Barao was never able to get back into the fight. It was the moment that changed everything.

Dillashaw stole the show and became the new bantamweight champion in the process.

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As you probably saw or heard, Renan Barao was defeated by TJ Dillashaw at UFC 173. Not just defeated, either. 

“Manhandled” is an appropriate word. “Outclassed” works, too. “Slapped around” if you’re feeling nasty.

It was hypnotizing.

Slice it any way you want, Barao is a downright fearsome striker. Dillashaw, though, slipped around him, peppering him with punches and kicks to the body and head for the entire length of the fight. In the fifth round, he clipped him with a head-kick and followed it with a right hook that floored Barao. He swarmed on him with punches afterward and got referee Herb Dean to wave it off at 2:26 of the final round.

There is no way to downplay how impressive Dillashaw was. He beat the best in his weight class at his own game. Badly. He showed that he is a true champion.

Barao, meanwhile, unequivocally showed that he isn’t.

That’s a harsh thing to say, of course. He’s a fighter who puts his life on the line in a sport that requires superhuman levels of cajones. For him to have the success he has had, he must be something special. 

And of course, Barao is something special. It’s impossible to say he isn’t.

The old saying, however, is that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” It holds true in MMA for all the greatest champions of today and yesterday. 

When Demetrious Johnson found himself down two rounds John Dodson, he lived up to the occasion, found his range and took the fight back after being battered through the first 10 minutes.

Jon Jones had his eye socket ventilated by Alexander Gustafsson, but kept his belt by mustering up two strong rounds against a fighter that was every bit his equal.

Johny Hendricks battled back from a beating at the hands of Robbie Lawler, and would take the fight and the belt by putting in a strong final frame. 

Barao found himself in the same situation as other champions. When his push, his looping hooks and deadly kicks were returned with an emphatic shove in the form of a right hook that put him on his butt in the first round? He backed down.

From that point on in the fight, he was tentative. Slow. Dare I say it…scared. That invited Dillashaw to expand his lead and, even as his coaches and cornermen begged for him to take the fight to the ground, he reared back, putting forward a token resistance, but little else.

So what did we learn? 

Renan Barao doesn’t have the heart of a champion. This may change, of course. He still has plenty of years left in the sport, and we’ve seen legends in the sport battle back from worse than this loss right here.

Right now, though, he just isn’t up to snuff with TJ Dillashaw. Never even mind all those fighters who have always sat above him on the pound-for-pound lists.

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