On Saturday night at UFC 165, two of the UFC’s most technical bantamweight fighters square off, as former WEC champion Eddie Wineland faces the UFC Interim Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao in a co-main event matchup that has a real chance to steal the show. This piece will break down both fighters, as well as where the fight will likely be won and lost.
Eddie Wineland
Wineland, a lifelong wrestler, has been a longtime staple in the upper echelon of the bantamweight division. He made his UFC debut at UFC 128, but prior to that he was making his name on the local circuit. Wineland’s career started with a less than stellar first eight fights that left him with a record of 3-4-1, but the Houston, Texas native began to put it all together, and in the space of a year, he won seven straight fights, which included winning the WEC bantamweight title by knocking out John Hackleman-trained Antonio Banuelos.
Following his title win Wineland began to falter a little. In his next five bouts he lost twice, and both in WEC, first to Chase Beebe, who beat him by unanimous decision for the belt, and then he was submitted by jiu jitsu phenom Rani Yahya.
Wineland wrapped up his WEC career with four straight victories — Manny Tapia, George Roop, Will Campuzano, and Ken Stone — which earned him a highly-publicized bout with Urijah Faber at UFC 128. But unfortunately for him Faber dominated the fight, and in the following bout he was beaten by Faber’s teammate Joseph Benavidez.
At UFC on FX 3, Wineland was pit against fellow WEC vet Scott Jorgenson, and in this bout he really showed just how devastating his striking had become, as he knocked out his foe inside two rounds. He followed that remarkable performance up with an equally devastating performance against Englishman Brad Pickett at UFC 155. In that bout he outboxed Pickett with ease, and impressed UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby enough to earn a shot at the interim bantamweight title.
Skillswise, Wineland is probably the most powerful 135-pounder. His boxing is notorious, and he should have the wrestling and power advantage over Renan Barao.
The path to victory for Wineland is to employ an aggressive game plan. He can’t afford to get caught up in a technical battle with Barao; he needs to make sure he can close the range and get off with powerful hooks to the body and head from the inside.
Renan Barao
Renan Barao is a longtime member of the highly-regarded Nova Uniao fight team, and has long been mentored by head coach Andre Pederneiras, who faced Pat Miletich for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 21.
Barao’s record is a thing of legend. Following a defeat in his debut back in 2005, he has racked off 30 successive victories — including 23 on the regional scene in his native Brazil — before being signed to World Extreme Cagefighting. On June 20, 2010, Barao made his US debut when he fought previously unbeaten Anthony Leone. After an impressive first two rounds, Barao, a BJJ black belt, managed to catch Leone in a deep armbar, which earned him the victory.
Following the Leone bout, Barao continued his mission to gain notoriety stateside when he fought Chris Cariaso at the final WEC event. It took Barao less than 4 minutes to show the world just how good he was, as he submitted Cariaso (a noted grappler himself) with a rear naked choke.
At UFC 130, Barao made his promotional debut, facing former WEC champion Cole Escovedo. In what has become routine for Barao, he dominated from the get go and nullified all Escovedo’s offense, outworking him on his way to a decision victory. In Birmingham, England at UFC 138, Barao faced Brad Pickett in his home country, and disposed of him in less than a round. In a beautiful display of aggression, Barao rocked Pickett a number of times on the feet before taking his back and choking him out.
After a win at UFC 143 against Scott Jorgenson, Renan Barao was put into the main event bout at UFC 149 against Urijah Faber, which was designed to crown an interim bantamweight champion. At the time, Barao was still relatively unknown by the casual fans, but he again managed to dominate the far more well known Faber, even breaking some of his ribs in the early rounds. In February, Barao defended his interim title at UFC on Fuel TV 7 in Wembley, facing Michael McDonald in what would turn out to be his most impressive performance to date. After a slow start Barao began to outbox McDonald, and as the fight went on, McDonald’s defense became more slack. In the fourth round, Barao’s hard work culminated in a beautiful arm triangle submission.
The key to victory for Barao is to keep Wineland at range and utilise his underrated kicks in the early rounds, before initiating the clinch in later rounds to score a takedown and use his far superior submission game.
The Verdict
Barao is the best bantamweight in the world, and in my opinion a Top 5 pound-for-pound fighter. He is better than Wineland everywhere, and will dominate on the feet before scoring a submission in the second or third round.
• Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland (Interim Bantamweight Championship)
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UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson is due to take place on September 21, 2013 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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