Renan Barao nails Urijah Faber unanimously to grab interim UFC bantamweight title – UFC News
Renan Barao, the Brazilian bantamweight star, successfully defended his 30-bout win streak against fan-favourite Urijah Faber, by collecting a unanimous decision in the five–round bout held on July 21, 2012, headlining the UFC 149 pay-per-view.
With this win, Renan has successfully engraved his name on career’s first ever title, the interim UFC bantamweight gold. Before the bout each and every critic was unanimous on the fact that Faber will shut out Renan easily as the American is in his fifth
title bout and badly needs a belt round his waist.
Despite all the hustle and bustle, it was the Brazilian pounder who defied all odds to grab an impressive win while perfectly executing the apropos game plan. From the very first second, Barao, who possessed a significant height and therefore the reach advantage,
started throwing raw-powered legs.
Renan’s strategy was somewhat equivalent to the one followed by Jose Aldo, one of the five belligerents who have gifted ‘The Californian Kid’ a loss. Though Renan’s continuous well targeted wave of legs did not inflict maximum damage still Faber was unable
to come up with a strategy to counter his nemesis weakness.
Whenever Faber progressed in order to connect a strike or two, Barao welcomed with a barrage of powerful kicks. During the whole bout, the scenario was somewhat like Faber finding a moment to penetrate Renan’s impervious leg defence.
The five-round bout, which was supposed to put forth the Canadian fans an epic showdown and was predicted to witness a classic submission move, eventually ended via unanimous decision with Renan collecting 49-46, 50-45 and 49-46 scores on all three cards.
After the dismal and above all fifth continuous title-bout loss, Faber stated, “I knew he was good at keeping distance, and he was able to keep his kicks from pretty far out. I knew he was tough. He hurt me pretty early with a knee to the rib, and I think
I might have a broken rib. It was nothing like Aldo. I felt (Barao's) kicks for sure, but it wasn't the same thing.”
Renan, the victorious champion and yet another Brazilian to hold a divisional title in UFC, while sharing his thoughts commented, “I came very well prepared for everything. I knew Faber was a great athlete and a great fighter. But I prepared myself very
well, and that was the result. My coaches told me to keep [kicking the legs], but it was not only that.”
The win has placed 25-year-old Renan on world bantamweight rankings’ second spot, a position formerly owned by Faber. Urijah, 33, has received his sixth loss in a total of 32 mixed martial art bouts whereas Barao has improved his resume to 29 wins in a total
of 31 bouts.
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