Renan Barao Wants To Fight Raphael Assuncao In Brazil Next

UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao has been at the top of the stack at 135 for a while now, and Dominick Cruz’s vacation of the title earlier this year made it official. A second win over Urijah Faber solidified Barao’s status as the top guy at bw, and it seems the world is at the Nova Uniao product’s feet.

Although the division is a little weak at present, Barao’s manager Andre Pederneiras spoke to Lancenet about the next challenger to the title:

“Raphael Assuncao will probably the next challenger, we’re already expecting this. (Dominick) Cruz is a fight that we really want to do”.

‘The Dominator’ has been sidelined for two years with injury now, and the future is not looking great for the former WEC/UFC bantamweight boss. Raphael Assuncao is a different story all together though; a win against Pedro Munhoz (?) at tonight’s UFC 170 would mark the sixth straight for the Atlanta based BJJ black belt.

Barao has his own feelings towards his next likely opponent:

“There are a lot of fighters in this division that are not well known yet,” Barao said. “I haven’t cleaned out the division yet. But that’s the goal, right? Assuncao won five straight and is saying on Twitter that he wants to be the next for the title,” he continued. “I hope he gets his chance and we can fight, so I can do my job and keep the title in Brazil.”

“I would love to (fight in Brazil next),” Barao said. “It would be wonderful. I always told (Pederneiras) that I would fight here if I had the opportunity. I hope it happens and I can fight in front of my people with this positive energy.”

The fight with Barao all depends on tonight’s performance against Munhoz, and a loss against the late step in would likely put Assuncao way down the list of contenders. Either way, the UFC needs to find a challenger for Barao’s title.