The Silent Super Fight: Renan Barao vs. Demetrious Johnson
Super fight talks have been all the rage in the UFC these past couple years, starting with the Anderson Silva vs. “GSP” debates, but we’ve yet to see a true champion vs. champion fight since unifying the Pride and UFC belts.
And that trend might continue on throughout 2014.
With light heavyweight champion Jon Jones fighting Glover Teixeira and both Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson eyeing the champ, “Bones’” talk of fighting heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is a little premature.
Both the middleweight and welterweight divisions are in turmoil after years of stability, so 185-pound champ Chris Weidman and the winner of UFC 171’s Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler title tilt will be busy holding their own court for the foreseeable future.
Lightweight champ Anthony “Showtime” Pettis can’t stay healthy enough to defend his own belt after his rumored super fight with featherweight champ Jose Aldo fell through. To top it all off, Aldo and UFC bantamweight champ Renan Barao are training partners and have no reason to fight each other.
That leaves one super fight left: Barao vs. flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
This isn’t just a matter of booking a super fight for a super fight’s sake; it makes a great deal of logical sense as well. Both champions have cleaned out their divisions and are in need of a fresh challenge.
Ali Bagautinov appears to have the lone legitimate claim to a title shot at 125 pounds, while Raphael Assuncao seems to be standing next in line at 135 pounds. While both are certainly elite fighters, neither appears to have a serious chance of dethroning their respective champions.
Stylistically, this is an exciting and very intriguing match up between two fighters currently ranked in the top five on the pound-for-pound list. Johnson, who was one of the top contenders at bantamweight before the UFC brought in the flyweights, perhaps has the best chance of ending Barao’s win streak outside of the perpetually injured Dominick Cruz.
In many ways, “Mighty Mouse” is like a much smaller, more exciting version of GSP. He has great wrestling and real technical striking. Although I don’t think he would dominate Barao in any department, his wrestling and timing should be good enough to put Barao on his back at least once or twice.
While on the feet, Johnson’s speed and technical perfection can give Barao if “Mighty Mouse” can move in and out before Barao can reach him. If he mixes up striking with takedowns and uses his speed advantage, this is a tough but certainly a winnable fight for the 125-pound champion.
Barao, on the other hand, is the bigger fighter and has the most impressive winning streak in MMA right now. He would certainly be favored in this fight. His gameplan would be the same as always – WAR! He would look to stuff the takedowns and keep the fight on the feet.
If he is put on his back, it’s unlikely the smaller Johnson would be able to hold him down for an entire round, giving him an opportunity to land strikes. The challenge for Barao in this fight is catching “Mighty Mouse.” Barao is used to being the quicker fighter, so he will have to be patient, pick his shots, and not get frustrated by the movement of Johnson.
The hype for the super fights has all but died down but there is a highly marketable and logical super fight waiting to be made. We have two dominant champions one weight class apart where the champ at the lower weight class has fought for the title in both divisions. Barao vs. Johnson looks to be a fast-paced, evenly matched super fight that’s waiting to happen. Let’s start asking the UFC for it as fans.
Photo: Joe Camporeale for USA TODAY Sports
