Faber vs Barao: Fight Recap and Analysis

Renan Barao is for real!

Any questions about whether the young Brazilian would be able to hang with a fighter of Urijah Faber’s caliber were quickly and unquestionably answered by the 25-year-old Phenom, as he dominated Faber for almost the entirety of their five round fight at UFC 149.

Currently riding a streak of 30 straight fights without a loss, Barao is proving to be one of the best fighters in all of MMA, and he’s now on a collision course with current bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.

Faber did everything he could to try and compete with the younger and overall more skilled fighter, but in the end, Barao just had a bit too much for “The California Kid” to try to overcome.

Here’s a quick recap and analysis of the UFC 149 main event.

Grappling

You have to think Faber would have liked this fight to hit that mat for at least a minute or two.

“The California Kid” didn’t really attempt to drag the fight to the mat, but that may have been due to Barao never letting Faber get close enough to get a hold of him.

Making it even harder on Faber was the damage done to his lead leg. Barao whipped leg kicks at the former WEC champion the entire fight, and by the time he was done, Faber’s explosiveness was just about gone.

Barao obviously had the advantage on the feet and he made sure it stayed there. 

Fight Overview

From round one, Barao dominated this fight.

Faber had his moments, particularly in the third round, but for the most part Barao was able to keep him outside of his range and pick him apart when he saw the opportunity.

It would have been interesting if Faber had been able to get inside enough to land a few shots and possibly get it to the mat, but Barao was just too smart and too disciplined to let that happen.

Barao now seems destined for a title unification bout against current title holder Dominick Cruz, while Faber is once again coming off of a loss in a title fight and will likely have a much longer road ahead of him than last time.