The UFC 165 pay-per-view co-headliner saw Renan Barao take on Eddie Wineland in a bantamweight bout for the interim title held by the Brazilian. Early on the fight, Wineland looked to use his boxing to land his patented power shots against a Barao who came in with more of a kickboxing approach to his stand up arsenal. He had some success landing a few counter punches early, but in the end, it was Barao’s more diverse arsenal which won him the fight. Early in the second round, Barao was able to land a picture perfect spinning back kick which dropped Wineland leading to an impressive finish as he swarmed him with ground and pound to end the fight.
This was Barao’s 2nd title defense, and since losing his pro-debut back in 2005, this win extends his streak to 31 fights without a loss. The result: Renan Barão def. Eddie Wineland by TKO (spinning back kick and punches), R2 0:26
What was the high point?
The finish. That spinning back kick landed perfectly, and will definitely be on highlight reels for years to come.
What was the low point?
None really, it was a pretty competitive fight up until that beautiful kick landed.
Where do they go from here?
Even though it’s unlikely to happen, I’d prefer Dominick Cruz to vacate the belt and go for a tune up rather than be rushed to take on Barao immediately, but since the UFC doesn’t usually work that way though, expect to see them to put on that unification bout by early 2014.
He’s still top 10, but Wineland will likely drop down a few spots. There are a lot of fresh match ups available for him at bantamweight though, so expect to see him in another entertaining bout against a top 10 opponent soon. Although it’s unlikely to happen, a bout against Michael McDonald if he wins against Urijah Faber would definitely be interesting.
Watch it now, later, or never?
Watch it now. It’s not everyday you see a spinning back kick finish, let alone one in a UFC title fight.
SBN coverage of UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson
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