so when are we going to start talking about Barao in the P4P list?

Renan Barao is on a 31 fight undefeated streak, he's the current reigning interim bantamweight champion and he's a BJJ blackbelt. I thought Barao fought very intelligently against McDonald at UFC London yesterday; McDonald was a dangerous opponent, he had some good combinations in the early rounds and an excellent guard, he used his hips well and got back up quickly after Barao's takedowns. Barao was right to use his wrestling in the early rounds and wear out McDonald to protect himself against McDonald's formidable striking. Barao's striking came to the fore in the latter rounds as McDonald's gassed and became far less mobile and easier to hit. McDonald stopped throwing combinations and his foot movement deteriorated too. Barao capitalized and got the well earned submission victory. This was a fantastic, entertaining fight full of skill, great offensive and defensive BJJ as well as sharp striking.

However on the current P4P top 10 rankings list on ufc.com Barao isn't on it! Should Barao beat Cruz in their unification fight (and I think he could) then I really can't see why Barao wouldn't get onto the list!? I think he's underrated. The Cruz/Barao fight is an interesting one, Cruz's movement is unorthodox and he's in a constant state of perpetual motion; however he's won his last four fights via decision, whereas Barao has finished two of his last 5 by submission. Barao also proved against McDonald this weekend that he can take a shot and recover from it as well as fighting intelligently. I think Barao is a dangerous opponent for Cruz. I also respect Barao for defending his interim title rather than waiting for the unification fight like Condit.

talkingpoint wrote:Renan Barao is on a 31 fight undefeated streak, he's the current reigning interim bantamweight champion and he's a BJJ blackbelt. I thought Barao fought very intelligently against McDonald at UFC London yesterday; McDonald was a dangerous opponent, he had some good combinations in the early rounds and an excellent guard, he used his hips well and got back up quickly after Barao's takedowns. Barao was right to use his wrestling in the early rounds and wear out McDonald to protect himself against McDonald's formidable striking. Barao's striking came to the fore in the latter rounds as McDonald's gassed and became far less mobile and easier to hit. McDonald stopped throwing combinations and his foot movement deteriorated too. Barao capitalized and got the well earned submission victory. This was a fantastic, entertaining fight full of skill, great offensive and defensive BJJ as well as sharp striking.

However on the current P4P top 10 rankings list on ufc.com Barao isn't on it! Should Barao beat Cruz in their unification fight (and I think he could) then I really can't see why Barao wouldn't get onto the list!? I think he's underrated. The Cruz/Barao fight is an interesting one, Cruz's movement is unorthodox and he's in a constant state of perpetual motion; however he's won his last four fights via decision, whereas Barao has finished two of his last 5 by submission. Barao also proved against McDonald this weekend that he can take a shot and recover from it as well as fighting intelligently. I think Barao is a dangerous opponent for Cruz. I also respect Barao for defending his interim title rather than waiting for the unification fight like Condit.

Why should he be he's Brazilian not an American wrestler with an overhand right & gnp and he keeps beating Americans! But In all seriousness there were talking about him that way & as you say if he beats Cruz then he has to be. I've never actually seen Cruz so I can't comment, any fights you'd reccomend, any links?

To the fight it's self I enjoyed it a tactical fight that kept you interested, was Macdonald going to land a big punch at some point as I think he had the power to worry if not stop Barao? Was Barao's all round game, strength, power & leg kicks going to be the deciding factor? After the 2nd it was clear Macdonald was going to have to rely on landing a big punch as Barao grew in confidence & showed his repitoire & then we got the sub. I look forward to his next fight.

I've watched his fights against Brad Pickett and Uriah Faber - Pickett just fought unintelligently and wanted to get the spectacular KO on home soil, which left him vulnerable and he beat Uriah comfortably over 5 rounds, although his tactics were alittle negative in the 5th round. He's a fighter cut from the same cloth as Aldo but I find his fights slightly more entertaining. The Cruz fight will be his biggest test and he will need a gameplan if he is to beat him. Nevertheless, what with Cruz's injury I think Barao stands a good chance of winning, he has momentum and belief in himself.

ufc.com have updated their P4P list to now include Barao but curiously enough he's replaced Frankie Edgar as No.9!? Seems pretty arbitrary to me. Cruz is No.7 so theoretically should Barao beat Cruz he would take his place as No.7?

When the announced Barao as Cruz's replacement against Faber in the finale of TUF, there were a lot of confused faces in the room. Even Dana White had to lean into Faber's ear and tell him who Barao was.

He then destroyed Faber so he knows for sure who he is now! He fought very well against MacDonald at the weekend so now he's on the radar a bit more prominently and definitely warrants a top 10 P4P position.

I reckon he'd beat Cruz but to be honest I don't think we'll see Cruz back in the Octagon again. His 1st ACL operation failed and they've had to operate again late last year. Two failed ACL operations dont bode well for a top level athlete

agree, but it would be a shame not to have a unification fight, otherwise there will always be questions!