UFC 138 Fight Card: What Renan Barao Must Do to Beat Brad Pickett

Earlier this year I put together a collection of Renan Barao's must-see highlights as a way of introducing fans to him while building up his UFC 130 fight with Cole Escovedo, a fight that earned surprisingly minuscule attention despite a former WEC Featherweight Champion facing a then-25-1 prospect with one No Contest from the Nova Uniao camp.

Barao showed a well-rounded skill set against Escovedo,displaying his technical striking as well as his takedowns and his slams. All this was against a game opponent who Barao seemed to merely outclass en route to boosting his record to 26-1 with one No Contest.

Before we get too ahead of ourselves, we must remember that UFC 138 this weekend marks an event in Barao's career which he has not experienced yet; UFC 138 this weekend marks the night of Barao's first legitimate career test against Brad "One Punch" Pickett.

The WEC was absorbed by the UFC before Barao was ever given the opportunity to prove himself, but with his impressive record and his unheard of tear through the Brazilian circuit, it seemed natural that Barao would find himself facing off against Pickett somewhere down the line.

Barao's diverse technical striking is effective when he is able to unleash it before his opponent gets anything significant off, and he needs to couple that in with some fantastic footwork in order to really pour the pressure on Pickett.

If he can use his striking and his footwork to put Pickett on the ropes, he'll have a good chance of finishing or at least severely hurting Pickett. But what if Pickett shows some heart and soldiers on despite visibly slowing down a little bit?

If Barao can slow down Pickett without necessarily finishing him that's fine for Barao because he is active enough from the top to put Pickett in danger if he should get him down. Many have pointed to takedowns and wrestling as two areas where Pickett has been suspect despite showing improvements in that realm.

Anywhere the fight goes, Barao has as good a shot to gain a victory as Pickett does, but Barao must get off first and foremost if he wants to stand anything reminiscent of a chance against the home favorite Pickett.