Faber vs. Barao: What Victory Means for Barao's Career

Brazilian fighter Renan Barao (29-1) kept his winning streak alive on Saturday night when he defeated Urijah Faber to capture the UFC interim bantamweight belt at UFC 149 in Calgary, Canada. 

According to ESPN's Franklin McNell, Barao hasn't lost a fight since he made his MMA debut in April 2005. 

Barao relied heavily on kicks to the left leg of his opponent on Saturday night in what would eventually turn out to be a victory for the 25-year-old fighter.

But that wasn't all the damage done by Barao in UFC 149, as Yahoo Sports' Maggie Hendricks tweets that Faber suffered a broken rib during the first round of the fight.

"

Urijah Faber's rib was broken in the first round of his loss. See his X-ray here. ht.ly/cppmf

— Cagewriter (@YahooCagewriter) July 22, 2012"

What This Means for Barao's Career

This was Barao's first promotional fight, and boy, did he take advantage of it.

This guy hasn't lost since his first fight in 2005 and yet he never got the respect he deserved, at least not until last night.

But now that his name is out there, Barao should benefit immensely from his impressive victory on Saturday night.

If anything, Barao made himself more marketable and probably inked himself some endorsement deals with his impressive victory last night.

I really think he has a chance to become a fan favorite, especially after Barao acknowledged that he's a UFC employee and will fight whoever, whenever (via MMAWeekly.com)

"

The Waiting Game: Renan Barao Says He Will Fight Whoever, Whenever the UFC Asks ht.ly/cpjX2 #UFC #UFC149

— MMAWeekly.com (@MMAWeeklycom) July 22, 2012"

After his victory over Faber, fans ultimately would like to see Barao vs. Dominick Cruz, who is currently recovering from a torn ACL.

We'll have to wait and see who his next opponent is, but for now, you can bet you'll be hearing the name Renan Barao a lot more throughout the UFC world.

Follow me on Twitter @Pete_Schauer