Issue 133

October 2015

Back in the spring of 2014, the pound-for-pound debate had ventured down a fresh path following a monumental shift in the MMA landscape. Perennial P4P players Georges St Pierre and Anderson Silva had both departed – one voluntarily and the other on the flat of his back – and the sport was looking ahead to an age with new power players.

Nick Peet 

Fighters Only’s editor laments the dramatic decline 

of one of the world’s most thrilling talents

Jostling for top position at the time was light heavyweight phenom Jon Jones and Brazilian sensation José Aldo, but there was also a very strong campaign behind the talents of then bantamweight leader Renan Barao too.

UFC president Dana White led a chorus from inside the industry, all of whom were singing the praises of the ‘other’ Nova Uniao champion who was undefeated in nine action-packed years. 

“Look at the numbers and look at Renan Barao’s fights, he’s all there. He’s the kind of guy that I like to watch. He’s a killer. He comes in and he tries to finish you,” White said back in May last year. “Look at the efficiency of the kid, and how he’s not been anywhere near being beaten in all those years... I’ve been debating if he’s number one pound-for-pound and, for me, he is.”

Dana had a point. Barao was riding a 32-fight win streak and had barely dropped a round during his entire WEC and UFC tenure. But where that aforementioned ‘killer’ is today is anybody’s guess.

With his boss’ endorsement still ringing in his ears, Barao was crushed by huge underdog TJ Dillashaw at UFC 173. His stock began to slide but, rather like Anderson’s demise against Chris Weidman, fight fans needed assurances the loss was no fluke. 

It took over a year, tainted by weight issues and injuries, to finally get Barao and Dillashaw back inside the Octagon together. And just like Weidman up at 185lb, Dillashaw broke Brazilian hearts for a second time with a repeat performance at UFC on Fox 16. Barao looked a shell of his former fight-finishing self.

Depending on how you view his demise likely expresses a particular side of your personality. If you’re a glass-half-full kind of person, then you most likely believe Dillashaw is simply on another level. But if you’re a glass-half-empty person, then you might view Barao’s career as now being firmly on the wane.

The reality is, it’s likely a bit of both. But how does a guy who never missed a beat in almost a decade suddenly get exposed and fall from the peak of the MMA mountain?

The noises coming out of Nova Uniao – the Rio de Janeiro gym both Barao and Aldo call home – have been uninspiring lately. 

Andre Pederneiras’ decision to step down as head coach can’t have helped team morale. So long the lifeblood of the camp, he’s as much a father figure as he is chief technical advisor. Without him at the helm, the future is uncertain.

Then Aldo bore the brunt of the fighting world when a rib injury scuppered his UFC 189 showdown with Conor McGregor – easily the most hyped fight in the organization’s history. Add in Barao’s latest setback and, having once been regarded as something of a bastion of invincibility, have cracks in the team been exposed after a decade on the biggest stage?

How Barao comes back now will be the measure of what he has left. It’s unlikely he’ll get a third fight with Dillashaw any time soon. So surely the featherweight division beckons. Yet it’s difficult to see the Barao of 2015 making an impact at 145lb – and deep down he probably knows the same. 

P4P debate

Rousey rising

Renan Barao dropped out of the UFC’s own pound-for-pound top 15 rankings following defeat in July. And while teammate José Aldo continues to top the poll, women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey’s claims for top spot grew stronger with another rapid 34-second title defense against Bethe Correia in Rio.