What’s Next For Renan Barao If He Beats T.J. Dillashaw At UFC 173?

Renan Barao will look to make the first defense of his unified title on Saturday, as he takes on T.J. Dillashaw in the main event of UFC 173. ‘Baron’ will look to extend his unbeaten streak to an astonishing 34 against the dangerous ‘Viper’, but is the Brazilian champion being sold short on Saturday’s PPV?

Originally expected to face Dominick Cruz at UFC 169 in a title unification bout, Barao ended up TKOing Urijah Faber when ‘The Dominator’ was once again injured. The champ was then expected to face Raphael Assuncao who had just scored his sixth straight at UFC 170, until he was injured and replaced by ‘The Viper’.

The shallow nature of the bantamweight division is apparent, but that’s not to say that Dillashaw isn’t a threat. Back to the point; are Dillashaw and Assuncao the last contenders at 135 pounds, and is Barao going to be losing out on the limelight because of this? Say Barao defeats Dillashaw, what then? If Assuncao is still injured, would the UFC make Faber vs. Barao III? It’s doubtful considering ‘Baron’ has beat ‘The California Kid’ twice.

Eddie Wineland maybe, Michael McDonald, Takeya Mizugaki? Well, Barao already holds wins over Wineland and McDonald, and that’s before considering they are both coming off losses where they were finished early. Is the champion doomed to reign atop (possibly) the weakest division in the promotion?

The Nova Uniao product can only fight who the UFC puts in front of him, but it’s hard to sell PPV’s/tickets when you know the headliner is going to be a squash match. Id feel safe in saying that I reckon Barao doesn’t have any competition in his weight class right now, but that could easily change, and I hope it does.

It’s not to take anything away from the talent in the bantamweight category, but the champion is just too far ahead of them right now, plus he is huge for 135 pounds. I’d say that with team mate Jose Aldo’s (eventual) move to lightweight, there could be scope for Barao taking over his spot at featherweight. ‘Scarface’ makes a notoriously harsh cut to 145 pounds, so perhaps that would be the cure to his troubles in weight and all the troubles at bantamweight?

It would certainly shake things up a bit, and I’d love to see Barao face Chan Sung Jung, Cub Swanson, Frankie Edgar, Chad Mendes and pretty much anyone else at 145. What do you think, should Barao hang around at 135 if he beats Dillashaw, or would featherweight make more sense?