The UFC Fight Night card scheduled for December 20th in Sao Paulo, Brazil has added a Bantamweight bout between former divisional titleholder Renan Barao and the streaking Mitch Gagnon. All the pressure heading into this fight is on Barao, who despite being a titleholder who defended the belt multiple times, will not get a re-match without another fight in between. Enter, Mitch Gagnon, who has won four in a row with the UFC since dropping his promotional debut.
Barao lost the UFC Bantamweight title back in May of this year, when he was soundly decisioned by underdog TJ Dillashaw. At that time, Barao, who was talked about as one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world, warranted a re-match and he got it this past August. Unfortunately for Barao, his match was cancelled around the weigh-ins when he suffered a feinting spell cutting weight, and he lost his instant re-match.
This could go either way with Barao at this point. He is wildly talented and can be unstoppable when he is on his game, but after the title loss and the questionable circumstances around the August fight, the UFC brass is right to give Barao the hard road back rather than just a rematch. How Barao handles it will be the big question. Was the title loss and subsequent turmoil a sign that Barao’s time at the top is done, or will this serve as motivation and lead to a top notch performance?
For Gagnon, he has very little to lose. Despite being 4-0 in his last four UFC outings, this is a huge jump in competition level, and it comes on the road in the Brazilian’s back yard. Even if he loses, as long as he doesn’t get caught quickly and he can make a fight out of it, his stock will rise because of Barao’s history. Should he win, it will have a catapult effect on his ranking, sending him into a top five or 10 ranking in the Bantamweight. It isn’t all aces for Gagnon however, since a win over Barao will more than anything call into question just how much Renan Barao has declined. People are already starting to ask that question, but a second loss for Barao would be lethal to his status in the division.
