The Brazilian Renan Barao won the interim UFC belt, in the bantamweight division, by defeating the North American Urijah faber last Saturday (21). With the triumph, the next fight for the athlete from Rio Grande do Norte would be to unify the titles against the champion Dominick Cruz, who is recovering from a serious knee injury. But plans for the organization's future may change.
Canadian revelation Michael McDonald, just 21 years old, could be the challenger for Barão's interim belt before a title unification, Dominick still has no plans to return to fighting.
“I feel like I'm good enough, yes (to fight for the belt). I feel like I can. I can do this. If I didn't feel like I could compete with these guys (the best in the division), I honestly wouldn't be in the UFC right now. I was very cautious and did my career very well, to make sure I could compete at the level I am at. So, of course, I believe I can compete with these guys,” McDonald told the US website MMA fighting.
In turn, Barão claims he doesn't care if it is necessary to defend the interim belt before unification. The Potiguar stated that he does not choose an opponent and is at the disposal of the organization.
“I’ll fight whoever the UFC wants,” said Barão. “I'm a UFC athlete and that's my job. I don't choose an opponent. The objective is to fight with the best”, concluded the Brazilian.
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