Renan Barao beats Urijah Faber at UFC 149
Renan Barao won the interim bantamweight title with a unanimous decision against Urijah Faber at UFC 149 on Saturday night in Calgary, Canada.
“I came very well prepared for everything,†the Brazilian said through an interpreter. “I knew Faber was a great fighter, but I was prepared.â€
He added: “This is the happiest moment of my life.â€
Barao won the bout 50-45, 49-46, 49-46, with an onslaught of punches and kicks as well as stellar takedown defense. But Faber managed to hold his own and land a decent amount of punches.
“He hurt me early with a knee to the rib,†Faber said. “I think I might have a broken rib from that knee in the second round. ... I knew he was really good at keeping the distance and he is difficult to take down.â€
Barao has now gone unbeaten in 30 consecutive fights, with one declared a no contest, and has won 19 in a row. The only blemish on his 29-1 record came in his first professional bout in 2005.
He is now in position to challenge current titleholder Dominick Cruz, who had to withdraw from a scheduled bout with Barao earlier this month because of a knee injury.
In the co-main event, middleweight Tim Boetsch won in a split-decision over UFC newcomer Hector Lombard.
“I was glad to give him his first loss, though I wasn’t too thrilled with how things went,†Boetsch said. “I landed a few strikes. My foot is a testament to that. Hector is heavy-handed and a tough fighter. He’s a power striker but I knew that and was able to put together a good strategy to beat him.â€
Also on the main card, welterweight Matthew Riddle got a submission win over Chris Clements at 2:02 of the third round, welterweight James Head won a split decision over Brian Ebersole, and heavyweight Cheick Kongo earned a unanimous decision over Shawn Jordan.
Earlier in the evening, Ryan Jimmo nearly made history in his UFC debut. He knocked out Anthony Perosh with a heavy right-hand punch only seven seconds into their light-heavyweight bout on the preliminary card, one second off the UFC record held by Duane Ludwig.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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