Doninick Cruz Winning Title Could Open Door For Renan Barao
With two losses to now former champion TJ Dillashaw and previous issues cutting weight, it appeared as if the future for former bantamweight title holder Renan Barao lied at featherweight.
It was rumored that “The Baron’s” next bout would take place at 145-pounds, but the bantamweight division has changed quite drastically in the last week.
Dillashaw put his title on the line in the main event of last weekend’s (January 17, 2016) UFC Fight Night 81 against returning former divisional kingpin Dominick Cruz. After a back and forth battle it was “The Dominator” who walked away with the strap, adding life to a weight class he once ruled.
Not only did Cruz winning the title open up a ton of possibilities for the whole division, but it opened up an opportunity for Barao to secure yet another title shot.
Barao currently sits at No. 2 in the 135-pound rankings, and is only 1-2 in his last three appearances, scoring a submission victory over Mitch Gagnon, and dropping two stoppage losses to “Killashaw”.
Barao and Cruz were actually supposed to square off in 2014 when the Brazilian held the interim title, and “The Dominator” was stationed as the undisputed champion. However, another injury setback to Cruz forced the UFC to strip him of his title and promote Barao to the unified boss.
Now with “The Dominator” back at the helm, Barao’s longtime head coach Andre Pederneiras is hoping for another title shot, adding that Cruz coming out victorious was “great”:
“I can’t say the result wasn’t good for us. It was. The belt changing hands is great for us. If T.J. (Dillashaw) continued as champion, we wouldn’t have a third fight between T.J. and (Renan) Barao, so the result was really good for us. If you ask me if [another title shot is] what I want, of course it is. That’s what I want. But we have to wait and see how everything goes. It’s too soon to talk about it.” Pederneiras told MMAFighting.
Cruz likely has some business to handle with longtime rival Urijah Faber and possibly even a rematch with Dillashaw, but if Barao can get back to his winning ways, he could find himself challenging for UFC gold again soon.
