UFC bantamweight king dismisses Barao, looks to solidify elite status
A second victory over former UFC champion Renan Barao has left little doubt T.J. Dillashaw reigns supreme in the bantamweight division.
There’s still one fight out there that could erase any lingering questions.
Dillashaw shocked Barao with a fifth-round knockout victory to take the belt in May 2014. After one title defense against Joe Soto and two postponed rematches against Barao, Dillashaw once again finished the Brazilian in the main event of a card Saturday night in Chicago.
While several potentially worthy contenders exist for a title shot at 135 pounds, a fight against former champion Dominick Cruz not only would be the most marketable, it would go a long way toward solidifying Dillashaw’s status as one of the organization’s elite fighters.
Cruz was the champion when the division was established in the UFC at the end of 2010. He defended the belt twice, including a win over current flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, but eventually was stripped of his belt after missing nearly three years with a series of injuries after that victory.
Barao had won the interim title in his absence, which eventually became the undisputed belt when Cruz was stripped.
Cruz finally returned with a spectacular first-round knockout of Takeya Mizugaki in September 2014, only to suffer yet another knee injury.
He may return late this year. Cruz, with his 11-fight winning streak and the marketable angle of never having lost his belt in the cage, makes sense as Dillashaw’s next challenger.
“That’s the biggest fight,” Dillashaw said at the postfight news conference. “That’s what’s going to make my name the biggest, is fighting Cruz at this weight class. He’s a very elusive, high-pace fighter as well. I just don’t think he has the power behind his punches. I don’t think he has that devastating threat he can impose on someone. I definitely see myself winning that fight.”
The champion is just ready to move on from his rivalry with Barao.
“I mean, it’s so hard for me to think about anyone else,” Dillashaw said. “I’ve been thinking about Renan Barao for over a year and a half. But we’ve got guys like Dominick Cruz and Raphael Assuncao. They’re both great fighters but they’re hurt now. Whenever they come back, I don’t know what the plan is, but I’d like to see either one of those guys.”
As for Barao, UFC president Dana White believes the fighter he once openly touted as the best pound-for-pound in the world might want to think about moving up to featherweight.
“It’s obviously his decision, but I think it would be a good idea to go up in weight,” White said. “He’s been having problems with the weight. He didn’t have problems (Friday) — he made the weight easy. (But) he looks really drawn out and dry when he cuts weight. He should probably move up.”
TATE MAY GET THIRD ROUSEY SHOT — Las Vegan Miesha Tate won her fourth straight fight with a unanimous decision over Jessica Eye on Saturday to once again established her as the top contender in the women’s bantamweight division.
“She is (the No. 1 contender),” White said at the news conference. “She has worked her way back to Ronda Rousey.”
Of course, that’s assuming Rousey gets through unbeaten challenger Bethe Correia in the main event of UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
Rousey already has defeated Tate twice, once to capture the Strikeforce belt in 2012 and again in a UFC title fight in December 2013. In the second bout, Tate made it to the third round before being submitted and remains the only opponent to get past the first round against Rousey.
Tate said she would be more prepared this time.
“I feel like I made some really necessary changes this time,” she said. “One of the biggest ones is becoming a better athlete. I feel like I added to my strength and conditioning program in stage one. I felt so much stronger, so much more powerful. I felt like the power I was able to deliver behind my hands was absolutely necessary. Not only for Ronda, but for anybody I’m fighting. But especially Ronda. I’m looking forward to that. She doesn’t like to be hit and I need to be able to deliver that finishing power on the feet.”
Rousey’s fight against Correia headlines an unprecedented seven-fight pay-per-view card Saturday. In addition to the title fight and two championship bouts for the Brazilian version of “The Ultimate Fighter,” former light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
Also, Stefan Struve will fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a heavyweight bout.
WSOF RETURNS TO LAS VEGAS — World Series of Fighting will bring an event to its hometown for the first time since January when Rousimar Palhares defends the welterweight title against Jake Shields in the main event of WSOF 22 at Planet Hollywood on Saturday night.
Also on the card, which airs live on NBC Sports Network (Cable 38) at 7:30 p.m., bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes will defend his bantamweight belt against unbeaten Sheymon Moraes. Former UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago Silva, who was released from the organization after a highly publicized domestic incident, will fight Mike Kyle.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.
