Dana: Renan Barao ‘Probably’ Becomes No. 1 P4P Fighter If He Finishes Urijah Faber

UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao saw the interim tag removed from his title when it was announced that long-injured Dominick Cruz had been forced out of their title bout at UFC 169 on February 1. Barao wasn’t happy about the circumstances, but he knows that the fight game can be an emotional rollercoaster at times.

Barao will still defend his belt at UFC 169, now against the man whom he originally won it against, Urijah Faber. “The California Kid” has looked amazing as of late; ending 2013 with an incredible four-fight win streak over top competition. However, Barao has looked unstoppable. He’s on a 32-fight unbeaten streak and hasn’t lost since his very first MMA fight almost nine years ago.

His recent finishes over top-ranked bantamweights Eddie Wineland and Michael McDonald proved his ruthless efficiency, but Faber is notoriously tough to put away. If Barao can accomplish that feat, UFC president Dana White thinks that Barao should sit atop the UFC pound-for-pound rankings. Speaking after Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 35, White made a somewhat bold claim:

“If Barao goes out and stops [Urijah] Faber, he’s probably pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world.”

I call the claim bold because Barao currently sits at number six in the pound-for-pound rankings, with longtime divisional champions like Jon Jones and Jose Aldo ahead of him. While finishing Faber, an iron-willed fighter who has only been stopped twice, would be the crowning achievement of Barao’s career, he’d still have to bypass fighters like Cain Velasquez, Chris Weidman, and Demetrious Johnson, as well.

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Would he deserve the world’s number one pound-for-pound spot if he smashes Faber like he’s been doing to the rest of the top 135-pound fighters in the world? Probably not, but maybe. That’s what makes the UFC pound-for-pound rankings such a debated set of numbers. It’s up for interpretation, and Barao has been running roughshod over competition for many years now.

But Jones has been destroying former champions and legends for three years now. The only knock on him is his close decision win over Alexander Gustafsson at last September’s UFC 165, the first time we’ve seen “Bones” look human. Outside of that, he’s been arguably the most dominant champion the UFC has ever seen when you factor in his level of competition.

Barao’s Nova Uniao training partner Jose Aldo is in a similar situation. He hasn’t looked amazing as of late but he has been effective. Injuries have hobbled his progress in defending the UFC featherweight title. Still, he’s undefeated in five UFC bouts and will have a chance to stand firm in his lofty position when he faces Ricardo Lamas directly before Barao fights Faber. If he wins, it’s hard to say he should lose his spot, especially to the number six fighter.

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Johnson has been flawless in the UFC flyweight division. The only thing keeping him from being ranked higher is the relative lack of talent in the UFC flyweight division. Regardless, he’s taken out all four of the top-ranked combatants in the division, and there isn’t a whole lot of competition left for him. That could cement his spot as one of the top three pound-for-pound guys in the UFC, or it could hurt him, depending on your point of view.

Weidman, well, he just beat arguably the sport’s greatest fighter twice in a row, so it’s hard to rank Barao above him right now, too. I suppose there will be those detractors who point out that Weidman finished Silva due to injury the second time around, but the bottom line is he got the job done against “The Spider” like no other man has before. As for Velasquez, he’s repeatedly proved himself twice against everyone’s consensus number one heavyweight contender Junior dos Santos, but he’s also on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time with shoulder surgery. If Barao is going to pass anyone by beating Faber, it’s Velasquez.

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So while this is all extremely up for debate, I think White’s comments are a little premature here. It would no doubt be incredible if Barao continues his hot streak by finishing “The California Kid,” but I still think he’d need another title fight finish to knock Jones and Aldo off of their perches. Johnson, too.

With two former pound-for-pound kings in Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre off the grid for the time being, there’s going to be a lot left up to interpretation in the UFC this year. But taking a look at the rankings, the cream of the crop is truly head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. That’s where the argument becomes a case of splitting hairs. Does Barao deserve to top the list if he can put Faber’s lights out at UFC 169?

Photo: Tom Szczerbowski for USA TODAY Sports