Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
UFC 165 featured a compelling interim bantamweight title fight between Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland. Both fighters had power in their hands, making this a great matchup. Early in the fight, both fighters were content to trade and after one round, it was very close.
In the second, Wineland looked to press the action, but Barao ended up landing a devastating spinning back right kick which landed flush on Wineland’s head. Wineland went to the canvas and Barao kept punching until the ref stepped in. What a TKO it was from Barao, who cements his status as being the best bantamweight in the world.
Wineland has always been a durable fighter who brings the fight to his opponents, but Barao proved to be too much in terms of the stand-up portion of the fight. Wineland still remains one of the toughest fighters in the bantamweight division, and will no doubt come back stronger after this deflating loss. Barao has defended his interim title twice, and he will challenge Dominick Cruz to unify the titles once and for all.
Cruz has had to battle back from back-to-back injuries, and it will be a tough outing for him to challenge Barao, especially for his first fight back inside the UFC. Tonight, Barao proved he is not only one of the best bantamweights on the planet right now, but one of the best fighters in all of the UFC.
Congrats to Barao on a sensational spinning head kick, cementing his status as a pound-for-pound great.
