Barao asking for title shot
Date: 2012-02-05 00:00:00
Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/27304/ufc-143-winner-bar...
Submitted By: MMAFightsDump
LAS VEGAS – The Ultimate Fighting Championship's own media notes on Brazilian bantamweight Renan Barao (28-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) sum it up nicely: "Has best record, on paper, in all of MMA." On Saturday night, Barao earned his 28th-straight win by downing onetime title-challenger Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision. The 24-year-old is now 5-0 under the Zuffa banner, and while UFC president Dana White isn't ready to grant him a title shot just yet, he admits the Nova Uniao product is quickly becoming one of Brazil's most popular fighters. "He's got an incredible streak going," White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "He's the buzz right now in Brazil. Everybody's buzzing about that guy. We'll see what happens." Barao, of course, famously dropped his first fight as a professional and has since earned 28-straight wins. He debuted for Zuffa with a pair of WEC wins and now has three-straight UFC victories under his belt. He's a consensus top-10 bantamweight according to MMA pundits, and the win over Jorgensen only serves to reinforce that assessment. Yet with just two main-card appearances to date, he has yet to really resonate among casual MMA fans. Determining a logical next fight for Barao is difficult, but waiting to meet the winner of April's UFC 145 bout between Michael McDonald and Miguel Torres would seem to have the most appeal, not to mention opportunity for advancement. The fight seems especially reasonable when you consider former top 135-pounders Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson are making the move to flyweight, and former champ Brian Bowles is coming off of a loss. In the meantime, current bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz has a summer meeting with fellow "The Ultimate Fighter 15" coach Urijah Faber on the horizon. Barao said he'd prefer to wait in the wings for the winner of that fight. "The title is my goal," Barao said. "I train every day, and I'm ready for it." "The objective is to fight for the belt, whoever it is – Dominick Cruz or whoever stands in line. I'm here for it." As Chael Sonnen has proved in recent years, MMA is as much about entertainment as it is sport. Barao doesn't speak English, and his exposure to the U.S. audience has been limited thus far. In short, he's still a relative unknown to many. But with Brazil quickly become the new Mecca for the sport, perhaps his countrymen can help rush Barao's run to the top. "In Brazil, he's not flying under the radar," White said. "In Brazil, everybody's buzzing about that guy." For complete coverage of UFC 143, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
