Dana White: Renan Barao Will Not Get An Immediate Title Shot, Maybe He Should Go To 145

Already rating as a lower-level UFC pay-per-view (PPV) with its T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao main event rematch intact, this weekend’s (Sat., August 30, 2014) maligned UFC 177 event from the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California, took a massive blow to its fleeting chances of success this afternoon when Barao was forced out of the bout after getting ill before weigh-ins.

UFC bantamweight Joe Soto, who was scheduled to face Anthony Birchak in the UFC 177 preliminary card, immediately stepped in to replace Barao, but obviously that fight has none of the drama that the rematch between Dillashaw, who won the belt with a shocking fifth round finish at May’s UFC 173, and Barao.

Directly after the whole fiasco went down, UFC president Dana White spoke up in his UFC 177 pre-fight media scrum courtesy of MMA Fighting:

Not as mad as we’ve seen the president, White noted Barao has to get his weight cutting in order, because his Team Nova Uniao isn’t exactly known for the most stellar cuts:

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“You’ve got enough money to get a real nutritionist in there to watch what you’re eating. Guy’s gotta start doing this the right way or don’t cut weight, or move up to ’45, ya know? And have Aldo move up to ’55, because both of ‘em don’t cut weight that great, ya know? But, it’s part of the sport; things like this are gonna happen. It sucks when it does, but it happens.”

White continued on about Barao’s withdrawal, noting the dominant former champion, who had 135 pounds nine times in the UFC and WEC, would not get an immediate title shot upon his return:

“No, no he won’t get a title fight after this.”

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White was also firm in his belief that the UFC didn’t even consider canceling UFC 177, as hometown champion Dillashaw was still on the card and defending his belt:

“No. Let me tell you what, we cancel a show, man; some heavy shit has rained down on us to cancel the show. We got; first of all, Dillashaw is the only UFC champion outta Sacramento, ever. He’s sill fighting, he’s fighting for the title, and he’s fighting a legit guy, a tough guy. A guy who he just trained with a few weeks ago for this fight, so.”

The president thinks Dillashaw wasn’t really in a position to turn down a fight with Soto, as he believes that champ should be ready to fight anyone at anytime:

“Yeah well I don’t know if a champion is ever in a position to not accept a fight. You’re the champion, which means you’re the best guy in the world, you should be ready to take on all comers no matter who they are, no matter if it’s the No. 1-ranked guy in the world, or the No. 100-ranked guy in the world.

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You’re the man. There should never be a guy you turn down or deny. Being the champion, being the No. 1 guy in the world, is never easy. You’re the guy with the target on your back. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”

Like it or not, Dillashaw will be facing Soto tomorrow, and he’s faced with an eerily similar Cinderella story as to his own from earlier this year. But this time around, the PPV buys could be the most anemic the UFC has ever seen.

Can anything save this mess of an event?