Get To Know Interim Bantamweight Title Challenger Renan Barao

Thanks to an injury to bantamweight title holder Dominick Cruz, Brazil’s Renan Barao now gets to step into the spotlight and fight Urijah Faber for the interim belt in the main event of this weekend’s UFC 149 event.

It’s been something of a meteoric rise for the 25 year-old given that he’s barely been in the UFC for a year, but it is in fact an opportunity that he’s more than earned.

Of course he has three wins already during his time in the Octagon, taking out quality opponents like Cole Escovedo, Brad Pickett and Scott Jorgensen along the way, but prior to that Barao was extremely active and in total has 30 fights, fighting mainly in his native Brazil.

What’s perhaps most remarkable is that since a decision loss in his first ever pro fight, he’s remained unbeaten. That’s seven years without a single loss – hugely impressive by anyone’s standards.

So Barao is clearly someone that’s worth knowing better, and with in mind below we’ve included both a video taking a look inside his UFC 149 fight camp featuring an interview with the main himself, plus a video of his best fight in the UFC to date against the always tough Brad Pickett which received ‘Fight Of The Night’ honors back at UFC 138 last year.

Inside Renan Barao’s UFC 149 Fight camp:

Renan Barao Vs Brad Pickett:

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.