UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao successfully defended his title for the first time with a fourth round submission win over Michael McDonald in the UFC on FUEL TV 7 main event.
The UFC hopes that Barao will be able to unify the interim title and the actual title with Barao facing current champion Dominick Cruz in his next matchup. Cruz is recovery from a devastating ACL injury that has kept him out of action for a year. It’ll be a tall challenge facing someone like Barao after such a long layoff, but Cruz thinks he has what it takes to beat Barao:
“I fight differently than anyone else. I’m not going to stand in front of you. I’m not just going to counter you and I mix things up. You take away range with angles. I can wrestle. I’m not going to just stand in front of him and strike the whole time. Feints ruin the entire game of Barao, in my opinion. You take away the range by taking away the jab. He’s going to be confused when he gets in there looking for me.”
It’ll be an interesting matchup for sure. Cruz is known for his outstanding cardio, movement, and ability to explode in and out of range. However, the ACL injury and long layoff will be a huge factor in determining if he’ll be able to return to form. If he isn’t able to sustain the pace he has in the past, or if he’s lost the ability to move the way he did pre-injury, he could be in for a long night when it comes time to face Barao
Stay tuned to ProMMAnow.com for more UFC on FUEL TV 7 coverage.