Passing of the Guard: Why Renan Barao will defeat Urijah Faber at UFC 149
Posted on July 20, 2012, 03:39 PM by Mike DrahotaAs we all know, this Saturday will mark the inauguration of the very first UFC Interim Bantamweight championship as popular former WEC champ Urijah Faber will face surging Brazilian fighter Renan Barao in the main event of UFC 149. The fight from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is one full of suspense as it presents an interesting dynamic not usually seen in MMA. Faber is the one that most casual fans and even most pros I've seen interviewed would pick to win wholeheartedly, without much thought. He has tons of top-level experience stemming from his dominant run as WEC Featherweight champion, and has never backed down from a fight. Faber has proven extremely tough to finish and that he can go the distance.
However, at age 33, he is getting older and may be running out of title shots. This is something that his opponent Renan Barao does not have to worry about currently. Barao is the odds-on favorite at the betting lines, suggesting that the experts in Las Vegas know something that the fans and even fighters themselves may not know. Barao is an absolute runaway freight train of a fighter right now, riding his unbelievable 29-fight unbeaten streak to an Interim title shot against Faber in place of the injured Dominick Cruz. Since making his UFC debut, Barao has gone 3-0, with two unanimous decision victories and a Fight of the Night winning submission victory over the tough Brad “One Punch” Pickett. I think that tomorrow night will be Barao's night to shine for a few reasons.
First off, Barao does have time on his side. At only 25 years of age, his body has taken an incredibly small amount of wear-and-tear even though he had his first fight at the ripe age of 18. He lost that early 2005 bout, he has not lost since. I know that most of his detractors would say that he has not faced even close the level of competition that Urijah Faber has, and I cannot argue with that. However, if we only gave fighters who had faced top competition their whole careers a chance to win UFC titles, there wouldn't be too many emerging stars like Barao coming up in the first place.
Barao also looks to finish fast, and while this is tough to do to Urijah Faber, Barao is the man to do it. Faber has only been finished twice in his illustrious career, and neither was by submission. This fight could end up like Faber's TKO loss to Mike Brown in my eyes. Although Barao is a black-belt in BJJ, I don't see him going for the submission here. I see him pushing the pace and looking for an aggressive win, something that Dominick Cruz did not try to do in Faber's last title bout. Barao's chances look very good to me here, and this fight could truly put him on the short list of elite champions in the UFC.
Training with Jose Aldo, who beat Faber in a WEC Featherweight title fight in April of 2010 will no doubt provide him with a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw from. If he chooses to utilize the Muay Thai leg kicks that hindered Faber versus Aldo, he may just take away the vaunted wrestler's takedown power. Faber is great, and looked top-notch when he destroyed Brian Bowles last November. But can he stop the onslaught of Barao? I think not, as the Brazilian “Pegado” will steamroll his way into every UFC fan's radar this Saturday night, in a passing of the guard at Bantamweight. A ton of pressure is on Barao, I see him delivering a decisive victory.
Further Reading- UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao Weigh-In Video and Results (6PM EST)
Check out Barao's take on the huge title fight this Saturday, courtesy of MMASucka.com:
Comments
Watched the Jorgenson fight just a few minutes ago, Barao has some Jose Aldo like TDD and will probably stuff most of Faber's attempts.
I think a big thing in this fight will be Faber's insane cardio and great speed - he even beat Dom Cruz to the punch a lot so he can do the same to Barao.
I expect first three rounds to be really close but as the fight goes on it will lean more towards Faber. First 3 rounds split between them but Faber taking the 4th and 5th winning 48-47
Hope this article isnt like the one where Chad Mendes is the smart money against Aldo. lol
Barao is the favorite and should be....the one Edge Faber has is the experiece in very big fights...Barao might feel the presure...why would he lose his first fight and win the other two dozens? did he get nervous in his debut? Will he get nervous in his main event title shot debut again?
Always good to hear an unbiased opinion.
No one should say there is a clear favorite in this fight. The performances Barao put on in his last three fights were impressive, but to think that Faber wouldn't have been able to do the same thing to all those fighters is crazy. Legitimately this is a fight between two of the best three fighters in this division. Can't wait!!
Unless Faber is hiding an injury, I find it unbelievable that Barao is the favorite.
Oh he's destroyed dudes, no question. But the guys that he's destroyed? Not exactly murders row.
The last three guys he fought, Escovedo, Picket and Jorgensen are all tough, but have have only won 59% of their fights . Respectable but not exactly top tier.
The last three guys Faber has fought, won 77% of their fights. That is a another level of competition. Faber has fought guys like Barao, including his training partner, Jose Aldo.
Barao hasn't fought a fighter of Faber's caliber, and I think that will make the difference.
Should be a slugfest. Can't wait
This will be one crazy fight. I can imagine how the fight Urijah vs Cruz would look like.
But Barao vs CRuz would be crazy !!! I believe Cruz could out-wrestlle Barao but the striking would be crazy - Dominick running around and Barao chasing like insane.