Renan Barao is leaving Canada with the interim UFC bantamweight title following UFC 149, a card which had many people talking, and not necessarily for the right reasons.
The Brazilian delivered a crisp, clean, technical performance to earn a clean sweep of the scorecards against Urijah Faber in the main event.
Barao was the faster of the two from the outset, and employed a game plan similar to that of his teammate, Jose Aldo, when he bested Faber back in the WEC, serving Faber a steady diet of leg kicks that slowed “The California Kid” a great deal.
While there are bound to be people who knock this fight, it was a solid performance from Barao, who landed more than 300 significant strikes over 25 minutes, out-striking Faber at every turn and in every round.
The question now is whether or not Barao will defend the title he won in Calgary. Throughout the week, he stated his desire to wait for injured champ Dominick Cruz, but it remains to be seen what plans the UFC has for their latest Brazilian titleholder.
The rest of the main card failed to live up to expectations, and had UFC President Dana White in a cranky mood at the post-fight press conference.
Here’s the thing to me, and I know people are going to call me a Zuffa apologist, but whatever: the card fell way short of expectations, absolutely, and was marred by injuries, but what in the hell do people expect these days?
It isn’t going to be 11 highlight reel finishes every night. Every once in a while we’re going to get a dud, and this was it.
Can we give Tim Boetsch some credit for his win over Hector Lombard before complaining about either (1) the judging or (2) the lack of action in the fight?
“The Barbarian” has won four straight since moving down to middleweight, and has now gone back-to-back against Yushin Okami and Lombard. D’you know who else has done that? Nobody that’s who. He was the second man to finish Okami, and the first to beat Lombard in years, so show the guy some appreciation.
That being said, it felt like that fight took place in the Bizarro UFC. Where was the hyper-aggressive, try-to-knock-your-head-into-Row-47 Lombard we came to love during his Bellator days? Boetsch had his moments and did enough to win, but it wasn’t an earth-shattering performance either, and despite his success, White seemed hesitant to sing his praises to loudly after the bout.
Lombard is a real head-scratcher. I don’t know whether it was UFC jitters or bad advice from his corner – who told him he was ahead between rounds – or what, but this was not the guy who had won 20 consecutive fights, most of them in destructive fashion. He’s out of title contention, and needs a serious rebound performance next time out to save himself from being deemed a colossal bust on the big stage.
Cheick Kongo earned a unanimous decision win over Shawn Jordan after holding him against the cage for the majority of their fight. The two heavyweights didn’t offer much in the way of offense, and White ripped referee Yves Lavigne for letting them clinch along the fence for the duration of the final round.
It was a strange outing from both, as Kongo seemed content to grapple along the cage, and Jordan was flat from the jump.
Brian Ebersole is probably regretting his decision to step up on short notice to fight James Head right about now.
Not only did the Oklahoma-based wrestler earn the decision by shutting down all of Ebersole’s takedown attempts and doing slightly more in the striking department, but it also halts his four-fight UFC winning streak in the process, sending him down to lightweight without any momentum.
Head is now 2-0 since dropping to welterweight, a division where his size and wrestling acumen are going to continue to make him a tough out moving forward.
The only main card fight that ended with a finish was the opener, as notorious “brawl for the fans” Ultimate Fighter alum Matt Riddle caught Chris Clements in a standing arm triangle choke late in the third before sweeping out his feet and finishing the hold.
A scrappy, solid wrestler who likes throwing hands, Riddle earned the first two round by controlling the action on the ground while not taking too much punishment in the stand-up against the Canadian slugger.
This fight also featured the weirdest moment of the night, as Riddle caught Clements with a beautiful kick to the body, causing him noticeable discomfort, only to have referee Josh Rosenthal step in and call time, believing Riddle had caught Clements south of the border.
Preliminary Card Quick Hitters
– Nick Ring and Court McGee went toe-to-toe for 15 more minutes, just as they did during Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter. Much like their bout in the house, Ring took home a questionable decision, winning the first two rounds on two out of three scorecards to earn the split decision.
– Francisco Rivera put on a striking clinic against Roland Delorme in their bantamweight bout, finishing the Canadian late in the opening frame with a perfectly timed counter left on the jaw.
– After being dubbed a “boring” fighter prior to entering the UFC, Ryan Jimmo put himself in the record books with a seven-second knockout win over Australia’s Anthony Perosh. The Canadian connected with a thunderous overhand right out of the chute, dropping Perosh.
– Interesting note: Canadians have been involved in each of the four fastest knockouts in UFC history, with Jimmo being the first to not be on the receiving end. Mark Hominick, Tim Hague, and Jonathan Goulet all got stopped in seven seconds, give or take.
– Bryan Caraway and Mitch Gagnon took home Fight of the Night honours for their back-and-forth bantamweight battle. Both had opportunities to finish in the first two rounds – or at least points where they had the other hurt – but it was the more experienced Caraway who came away with the victory, securing a rear naked choke early in the third to get the win.
– Canadian veteran Antonio “Pato” Carvalho blistered Daniel Pineda with a pair of heavy shots early in their fight to collect his first UFC victory.
– I’m going to have to double check this, but I believe Anton Kuivanen is the first fighter hailing from Finland to earn a win in the Octagon. The chiseled grappler earned a split decision win over Mitch Clarke in the opener.
Next up: UFC on FOX 4, Saturday, August 4 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Light heavyweights Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Brandon “The Truth” Vera headline.
Follow The Roar’s UFC Expert E. Spencer Kyte on Twitter (@spencerkyte).
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