This Saturday night (August 30, 2014) UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw will take on Renan Barao in the main event of UC 177 from the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California.
Dillashaw ripped the belt from formerly dominant champion Barao in the main event of May 24’s UFC 173, and it wasn’t even a close fight. Barao was thought to be challenging for the top spot on the pound-for-pound rankings that night; instead he found himself on the wrong end of one of the most shocking upsets in UFC history.
Despite his lack of any significant offense against Dillashaw, Barao was granted an immediate rematch after not losing for a decade prior to UFC 173, and while eager to face new challenges, Dillashaw embraced the opportunity to prove his previous victory wasn’t just a fluke.
And if the first fight is any indication, the new champion may just have risen to the level that he’s now the better man. We’re going to find out if Barao can rebound and win the biggest fight of his life, but the deck is stacked against him.
Here are five deciding factors why Barao will fail to regain the UFC bantamweight championship at UFC 177.
