Tag: UFC on Fuel 7

UFC on Fuel TV 7: Renan Barão Win Sets Up Epic Showdown with Dominick Cruz

A title unification is afoot in the UFC bantamweight division.After Renan Barão took care of Michael McDonald in the fourth round (via Yahoo! Sports) of the pair’s interim title fight at UFC on Fuel TV 7, he set up what will be an epic showdown …

A title unification is afoot in the UFC bantamweight division.

After Renan Barão took care of Michael McDonald in the fourth round (via Yahoo! Sports) of the pair’s interim title fight at UFC on Fuel TV 7, he set up what will be an epic showdown against currently injured Dominick Cruz for the full title of bantamweight championship.

The potential title fight hasn’t gained as much press with Anderson Silva‘s name in the news for both Georges St-Pierre and Jon “Bones” Jones and Cain Velasquez taking the world by storm in the heavyweight division.

Attention, UFC fans: It should.

For starters, Barão moved to 30-1 in his MMA career and is currently riding a 20-fight win streak that now includes title-fight wins over Urijah Faber and McDonald.

He and McDonald traded jabs for most of the afternoon on Saturday, but Barão managed to get McDonald in position for an arm-triangle that ended things with three-minutes-and-change left in the fourth round.

UFC president Dana White was asked about the potential match, and he responded positively to what could be one of the better UFC title fights in recent memory (from MMA Weekly via Yahoo! Sports).

“Hopefully Cruz is healing up well and we can do that fight,” said UFC president Dana White when asked what was next for Barão. “That’s the fight I want to do and hopefully we can do that this summer.”

Cruz has had a long absence from competition. 

He hasn’t fought since October 2011, when he defended his title against Demetrious Johnson. Since then, knee surgeries and delays from a potential return have clouded Cruz’s future in the UFC.

If the company can get this fight together, it will be a potentially huge match.

Cruz (19-1 in his own right) has plenty of pedigree, and his last loss came as a member of the WEC. Since then, he won the title outright from Faber and then defended it against Johnson in late 2011. However, knee injuries threaten to claim his existence and have allowed Barão to take over the division.

From the Brazilian’s dominance to the comeback story Cruz would provide, this is a cash-cow for a potential pay-per-view showdown. Barão defended the title on Fuel on Saturday, but he likely won’t have another fight on cable TV as long as he’s the champ.

The one with Cruz certainly wouldn’t be, and as long as the rehab and therapy continue along the right way, the UFC has an epic title fight on its hands.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

4 Takeaways from UFC on Fuel 7

UFC on Fuel 7 has come and gone. The card looked quality on paper, but it produced the most decisions on one card in UFC history with nine.Renan Barao retained the Interim UFC Bantamweight Championship with a fourth-round submission victory over Michae…

UFC on Fuel 7 has come and gone. The card looked quality on paper, but it produced the most decisions on one card in UFC history with nine.

Renan Barao retained the Interim UFC Bantamweight Championship with a fourth-round submission victory over Michael McDonald. The competitive fight came to a close with an arm-triangle. If Dominick Cruz can return soon they will battle it out to determine the undisputed champion of the 135-pound weight class.

The card looked great on paper, but that is why they step inside the cage. The main event and co-main event saved the evening from being marred by an underwhelming undercard.

Here are four takeaways from Saturday’s event.

Begin Slideshow

UFC on Fuel TV 7 Results: Fighters Who Helped Themselves the Most

Renan Barao took a major step in his UFC career, retaining the interim bantamweight title after submitting Michael McDonald at UFC on Fuel TV.Barao has now won 30 decisions in a row, with one fight going to a no contest. He’s 30-1 overall and 5-0 in UF…

Renan Barao took a major step in his UFC career, retaining the interim bantamweight title after submitting Michael McDonald at UFC on Fuel TV.

Barao has now won 30 decisions in a row, with one fight going to a no contest. He’s 30-1 overall and 5-0 in UFC. Barao just needs to beat the injured champion Dominick Cruz in order to assert his dominance over the entire bantamweight division.

Although the fight went into the fourth round, Barao was never in much trouble against McDonald, and it was only a matter of time before he would pull off a move that would end the fight. With the way in which he won, Barao did himself a ton of favors and is getting some of the recognition he richly deserves.

Here’s three other fighters who benefited the most.

 

Cub Swanson

It’s not always easy in taking on an opponent on short notice. Cub Swanson only had about a month to prepare for Dustin Poirier. It didn’t look to affect Swanson whatsoever as he dispatched Poirier via unanimous decision.

Beating Poirier doesn’t have the same effect for Swanson as beating Dennis Siver would have had. Siver was one of the top contenders in the featherweight division.

Still, Swanson was able to dominate much of the fight against Poirier. It’s the kind of performance that Swanson needed to have in order to continue moving up the featherweight rankings. A much less convincing win wouldn’t have looked good in the eyes of fans or UFC as it looks to weed out the top contenders from the rest of the pack.

 

Gunnar Nelson

Much like Swanson, Gunnar Nelson had the disadvantage of a short period of time with which to prepare for his opponent. Plus, it had been over a year since Jorge Santiago had last fought in UFC. Santiago remains winless in UFC after losing a unanimous decision to Nelson.

The Brazilian put up a good fight, but it wasn’t enough to get past Nelson, especially in the later rounds.

Nelson finds himself quite a ways down in the welterweight rankings. At 24 years old, though, he’s got plenty of time to move himself up. Picking up wins against fighters like Santiago is a great way to get some vital experience in the early stage of his career before working up to bigger fights against much tougher opposition.

 

James Te-Huna

Right behind Barao on the list of fighters most helped has to be James Te-Huna. He wasn’t the most convincing against Ryan Jimmo, but he managed to do even to convince the judges.

What was particularly good was the way Te-Huna recovered to salvage the fight. In the early rounds, it looked like Jimmo might be able to finish off the Australian. Instead, Te-Huna turned the fight around and was able to keep Jimmo on the ground.

The most entertaining thing from the fight, though, was arguably Te-Huna’s entrance in which he resembled one of the agents from Men in Black. It was a bit showy, but it will definitely get Te-Huna noticed.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fuel 7: What Went Right for Renan Barao

Renan Barao was able to leave the UFC on Fuel 7 main event still the interim bantamweight champion after defeating tough challenger Michael McDonald via arm-triangle in the fourth round.Barao started the fight off well by landing a takedown and moving …

Renan Barao was able to leave the UFC on Fuel 7 main event still the interim bantamweight champion after defeating tough challenger Michael McDonald via arm-triangle in the fourth round.

Barao started the fight off well by landing a takedown and moving into side control early on. Barao also began hitting McDonald with some nice hook combinations as the young challenger moved in.

The second round came and went with Barao starting to utilize his fast and powerful leg kicks. He also managed to hit McDonald with a solid shot before the round finished up.

The third round began with both fighters throwing some leather. Barao continued to find his timing and got the better of the exchanges.

With a few minutes left in the round, Barao hit McDonald with a big right that stunned the younger fighter. Shortly after being clipped by a McDonald uppercut, Barao landed a nice spinning back-kick that sent his opponent backwards.

The fourth round started with Barao attempting to land a leaping hook. After a few striking exchanges and a failed takedown, Barao began to work his leg kicks. He also followed those kicks with a spinning back-kick to the chest of McDonald.

Barao then tied McDonald up against the cage and secured a body lock. He succeeded in dragging him to the canvas and landed some nice knees on the way down for good measure.

Once on the mat, Barao was able to take his opponent’s back. He saw McDonald trying to improve position and, displaying his Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, he locked in an arm-triangle choke that won him the fight.

Barao showed some excellent hands and kicks throughout his fight. He was able to avoid the knockout power of McDonald’s right hand and use his experience to earn him the win over a very good challenger.

McDonald fought a great fight and should be commended for it, but Barao was much more experienced—and this was what won him their bout and allowed him to retain the bantamweight belt.

Tweet me @FuscoNation16.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Bantamweight Mega-Bout Brewing: Renan Barao vs. Dominick Cruz

Dominick Cruz was antsy as Renan “Barao” Pegado entered the Octagon and defended his interim UFC bantamweight title. Sitting on the set back in Los Angeles, broadcasting live on Fuel TV, Cruz was shadow boxing throughout the four-round fight.You can fo…

Dominick Cruz was antsy as Renan “Barao” Pegado entered the Octagon and defended his interim UFC bantamweight title. Sitting on the set back in Los Angeles, broadcasting live on Fuel TV, Cruz was shadow boxing throughout the four-round fight.

You can forgive him.

After all, the man in the cage who took on rising star Michael McDonald shouldn’t have been Barao. In a perfect world, it would have been a happy and healthy Cruz, the rightful champion who has never tasted defeat in nine fights as a bantamweight.

We don’t, alas, live in a perfect world. Cruz, unfortunately, tore his ACL preparing for a fight with Urijah Faber last May. In December, we learned that his body rejected a cadaver’s ACL, setting his recovery back another six months or more.

That left Barao to pick up the pieces and the bantamweight belt, first beating Faber to earn the interim title and now defending that belt against McDonald, utilizing a combination of raw athleticism and startling skill that reminded many of teammate Jose Aldo.

“He looked like a champion,” UFC president Dana White told Fuel after the fight. Cruz, too, was impressed, citing the young fighter’s strength and upper body clench as key factors in the fight.

“(McDonald) had the same problems I thought Barao would give him,” Cruz said on Fuel TV’s UFC Postfight Show. “He can’t take down Barao, which gave him more chances to win and he could go for the takedowns. He can stay on the outside and strike. On top of that, McDonald was looking for the power shots, and was not looking to set them up. He was looking to counter them or force them. And, as I thought, Barao was able to keep the distance and keep McDonald from landing the big shot. He was able to dictate the range, keep the distance and score the takedowns that won the fight.”

Cruz’s analysis, as always, was spot-on. Of course, with his broadcast partners Jay Glazer and Chael Sonnen egging him on, Cruz couldn’t resist explaining why fighting Barao is an entirely different proposition than fighting McDonald.

“I fight differently than anyone else,” the champion said. “I’m not going to stand in front of you. I’m not just going to counter you and I mix things up. You take away range with angles. I can wrestle. I’m not going to just stand in front of him and strike the whole time. Feints ruin the entire game of Barao, in my opinion. You take away the range by taking away the jab. He’s going to be confused when he gets in there looking for me.”

Barao, to his credit, recognizes that he will never truly be the champion as long as Cruz lurks outside the cage with his own version of that shiny gold belt. He called Cruz out immediately after the fight and wished him a speedy recovery.

“I will train very hard,” Barao told Fuel TV. “I’m looking forward to the fight and I want to give a great show and beat him. I wish Dominick a quick recovery so he can come fight and give a great fight to the fans.”

The bantamweight division, featuring fighters who weight just 135 pounds, has struggled to create demand among any but the most hardcore MMA fans.

But with two different dominant champions, the upcoming Cruz vs. Barao fight could be something the division has never seen in its short history—a legitimate box-office and television attraction.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Dana White Fights Against TRT Abuse: ‘I Believe That Guys Are Cheating on It’

Frank Mir, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. What do all of these fighters have in common outside of being in the UFC, with several of them being former champions in the promotion? They are all curr…

Frank Mir, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

What do all of these fighters have in common outside of being in the UFC, with several of them being former champions in the promotion? They are all current or past users of the controversial testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) procedure that continues to plague the MMA landscape.

In the past, UFC president Dana White has bounced back and forth on his stance regarding the procedure. By the standard of state athletic commissions, as long as a fighter is granted a temporary use exemption (TUE), he is allowed to use the treatment to boost his testosterone for a fight.

This week White came out in strong opposition to TRT. He now says if you’re a fighter in the UFC and using the controversial treatment, the UFC will be testing nonstop throughout a training camp to ensure no funny business is going on.

“I’m against it. If you asked me three months ago it’s legal, it’s sports science, but everybody figures out a way to take a great thing and cheat and make it bad. I think that from what I’ve seen from the last year, I’ve seen situations where guys—if you know what testosterone replacement is, if you’re older your testosterone starts to get lower, well they can give you testosterone to get you back up to a 25-year-old (level),” said White during the UFC on Fuel 7 post-fight press conference. 

“What I believe guys are doing jacking up this stuff through the roof through their entire training camp then getting back down to normal levels right before the fight, which is cheating. I hate it, don’t like it, and I’m going to fight it.

“If you are using TRT in the UFC, we’re going to start testing the s—t out of you, through your entire camp.”

Fighters who have been diagnosed by doctors with low testosterone can receive the treatment, which allows them to regain what is considered normal levels for an athlete. The problem White sees is that he believes fighters are taking the synthetic testosterone and boosting the levels to much higher than regular standards to help during training and then monitoring the levels to make sure they are back within a legal limit for fight time.

White doesn’t want to see it anymore, and he’s willing to test athletes independently of the athletic commissions to guarantee that if they are on TRT, their levels never peak above what would be considered normal by testing standards. The World Anti-Doping Agency allows for a four-to-one ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone levels, while the Nevada State Athletic Commission allows up to a six-to-one level.

“The TRT thing is legal, the commission lets guys use testosterone replacement therapy,” White said about the procedure. “I believe that guys are cheating on it. I truly believe that guys are cheating on it, and I don’t like to see a natural, gifted athlete go in and fight against a guy who has been jacked up on TRT for three months.”

White also points to the issue that there is not a clear definition or understanding of testosterone replacement therapy as it relates to athletics or more specifically to mixed martial arts. 

“The other problem with TRT, the other problem that I have—you get four smart guys together who can have an educated conversation about testosterone replacement therapy—they’ll give you four different answers. So when it’s that vague and that many people don’t understand it, nanograms and this ratio to that ratio and all this bullsh—t. When you sit down and you start talking about it, it’s not fair,” White commented.

Testosterone naturally lowers as a person grows older, so levels won’t be the same at age 40 as they were at age 25. White believes that if a fighter’s testosterone levels are so dangerously low that he requires TRT, maybe that’s a sign that his fighting career is over.

“If your testosterone level isn’t high enough maybe you’re too old to fight,” White stated.

White was adamant about the testing, but it’s still to be revealed how often the UFC could test athletes and at what stage the UFC will be notified about a fighter being on TRT to be able to test. It’s also unknown at this time what ratio the UFC would allow a fighter to have during a training camp without testing at an unacceptable level.

It appears TRT will continue to permeate the headlines in the foreseeable future.

Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com