What's next for Renan Barao?

A look at the UFC's 135lb division

by Chris Marzella @ChrisMarzella

If you didn't already know, Renan Barao is one of the very best mixed martial artists on the planet.

Despite the very much controversial conclusion to his first UFC bantamweight title defence at UFC 169 against the always game Urijah Faber, all that really happened was Barao chalked off yet another contender for his crown, again.

Barao spent so much time as the interim champion, knocking off the top contenders in the absence of Dominick Cruz, that as champion now he has already defeated many of the top contenders.

Take a second and think who is next in line for a crack at the exhilarating Brazilian. Michael McDonald? Been there, done that. Eddie Wineland? Same. Faber? Again?

The problem is, Barao was too good for everyone before he was the champion. How likely is that to change now that he is the undisputed bantamweight champion?

The rankings are always a good place to start when considering future contenders. From the list of guys not already humbled by Barao we have Raphael Assuncao, Urijah Faber's stablemate TJ Dillashaw and of course former champion Dominick Cruz.

From that list the next challenger seems to be fairly obvious.

Dillashaw, despite the ringing endorsement issued by Faber in the aftermath of UFC 169, has already lost to Assuncao back in October at UFC Fight Night 29, so Assuncao should and in all probability will be ahead of him in the line.

All that seems fine and well, apart from the fact there's only one fight everyone wants to see at 135 pounds. The countdown is on until the former champion is healthy again.

The highly anticipated unification match that never quite materialised needs to happen, if not for anything other than to solidify the belief that Barao is the premier bantamweight on the planet.

And with that, there is a problem. When a champion dominates his division, fairly often they defend their title against people who, quite frankly, don't belong in title fights, just look at some of the challengers Anderson Silva faced over the years.

Barao has beaten the top contenders in his division, with the exception of a couple, so the list to choose from if fairly narrow.

The only fight that matters though is with Dominick Cruz. We have been teased with this prospect for the last two years and I'm fairly certain that it is the only fight anyone really wants to see next.

The quicker Cruz gets himself fit the sooner we can see the best possible bantamweight fight on the planet.