UFC 149: Renan Barao beats Urijah Faber with unanimous decision

Brazilian phenom Renan Barao extended his unbeaten streak tonight with a decisive unanimous decision victory over opponent Urijah Faber. Faber, as always, came out with a lot of motion and speed, but was just unable to find an opening in the defense of Barao. Barao used a lot of kicks as expected, with great Muay Thai leg kicks similar to Jose Aldo. The kicks seemed to cause Faber’s leg to swell up as the fight wore on.

Barao also attempted many headkicks and even high spinning back-kicks, showing a diverse striking arsenal. He would often follow with several crisp punching combinations, and also stuffed any attempts at a takedown. Faber was trying to find his rhythm, but Barao never let it happen. Barao applied consistent pressure to score the unanimous decision. With the win, he proves that he is worthy of the considerable hype he received leading up to this bout.

For Faber, a man who is now 0-5 in his last 5 title bouts, a decline may be on the horizon. He always come to the cage and pours his heart into each fight, but he was clearly over-matched tonight. While only thirty-three years old, we may have seen our last title fight featuring Urijah Faber. Barao will now wait until current Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz heals up from a torn ACL to unify the belts. The striking battle that will ensue between Barao and Cruz should be an interesting chess match, albeit one that will most likely end in a decision.